We are back yet again for another review from your favorite; we are back to talk about the recent drop by Tyler, The Creator, 'CHROMOKOPIA', which released on October 28th, 2024.
I don’t know y’all, this sh-t was ANNOYING. I won’t bash Tyler, the Creator himself as I do respect him and his overall dedication to make art and an impactful presence in music and fashion, but as someone who claims to be Big Body Benz, it feels a bit frustrating as a fan to see huge similarities in his music for the past couple of years.
It just sounds like the same thing, and with the way Tyler boasts about himself, one would think he would show us some variety. As you can probably tell, I was not a fan of this album, but we are going to get into it right now and analyze this world, Chromokopia.
Honestly, I’m not sure what genre of music this is; Tyler is one of the few artists that has managed to blend multiple styles in his production. There’s so much happening here. You can hear influences of military music, hip-hop, rap, neo soul and more. While the composition is impressive, I don’t see how people can enjoy the confusing nature and tone that’s being done.
Don’t get me wrong, Tyler has a way of being able to bring everything together to make it make sense, but I would still argue that despite that, it stills brings an overwhelming feeling and uneasiness. I don’t know guys, it sounds like the same stuff we were hearing from "CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST" and "IGOR", and honestly I just don’t care to hear this type of music anymore.
I know what you’re thinking: "If you don’t care about it, don’t listen to it". Obviously, but I’m a woman of my word, business is what I stand on, and I said I was going to do this review -- so here we are.
How does one enjoy this, though? Listening to this album feels like when the fire alarm goes off; lights are flashing, water is pouring from the sprinklers, people are screaming and running around like ants, etc. Now just add Sexyy Red’s vocals on top of that mayhem.
There are some melodic bangers here; we got "Judge Judy", "Darling, I","Balloon", etc. We have amazing features from Teezo Touchdown, Glorilla, Sexyy Red, Doechii, Lil Wayne and more.
Now, I know this album is really just about getting to know Tyler by learning more about his upbringing and it’s also meant to resonate with young adults realizing they’re adults now and the pressures that come with adulthood. Tyler is vulnerable and very confessing on this album which I definitely appreciate.
Despite acknowledging these things, the album is just not something I can imagine myself listening to in any environment. To hear a bunch of trumpets going off, chanting, whispering and a collection of oddly placed drums and bells was off putting, despite it being brought together nicely. It just wasn’t enticing or creating any feeling or emotion in me besides annoyance and frustration.
You have to be into this genre; it’s not that type of music everyone is going to enjoy such as anything from Michael Jackson or some popular songs from Lil Uzi Vert or Beyonce. I just know they are not making TikTok’s to these songs in India or Paris.
While I acknowledge that wasn’t the vision for this album anyway, that was just to express how much interest you need to have in this genre to truly enjoy it.
It appears that I’ve been hating for about 600 words now so on a positive note, I will give props to Tyler, The Creator, as he is truly a multi-faceted artist who is making great strides in music, art and fashion. I will also have to admit, this album would be amazing as a soundtrack for a movie. Any movie or show with black characters could use a soundtrack like this. "The Vince Staples Show" actually comes to mind when I think about it.
The videos for "Noid", "Thought I Was Dead" and "St. Chroma" provided creative visuals, which gave us a true look into Chromokopia. If you haven’t visited, I would say it’s worth the visit, but I will be gracefully packing my things and departing. Until next time my fellow readers! "I Hope You Find Your Way Home."
If you listened to the album, you’ll see why it was witty for me to conclude the review like that. Bye -- for real this time.
Rating: 6.8/10
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