Listen to Tyler, the Creator's New Album 'Chromakopia'
His highly anticipated album is an obscure and wonderful journey, with features from Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne, and more.
Let the craze begin. Tyler, the Creator dropped his latest: Chromakopia, his eighth studio album, was released Monday morning after much anticipation.
The 14-song album boasts features from Childish Gambino to Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne. Daniel Caesar performs background vocals on the track titled "St. Chroma," which is also the name of the masked character the record revolves around. Tyler, the Creator's albums often create and follow a character like in 2019's Igor, or, in this case, St. Chroma. In Chromakopia, many stories he tells embody a theme of paranoia and fear.
Music videos leading up to the album release offered a taste of the mood and creative prowess to come. "Noid," for example, was released as a lead single ahead of Chromakopia's debut, and it samples "Nizakupanga Ngozi," a song by '70s Zambian rock band Ngozi Family. Its video features Ayo Edebiri playing a frenzied fan wanting to take a photo with her favorite artist, but the phone quickly becomes a gun. The song is a commentary on obsessive fan culture and parasocial relationships many people have with artists they admire.
Tyler, the Creator has already dropped tour dates “Chromakopia: The World Tour,” with Lil Yachty and Paris Texas set to accompany him. It will begin February 2025 in the U.S. and go to Europe before ending in Australia. Tickets will go on sale, starting with pre-sale on October 29. Merch is available on the album’s website, in conjunction with the artist's clothing brand Golf Wang.
Tyler, the Creator is known for his boundary-pushing approach to each musical project, and Chromakopia is certainly no exception. In it, his bars seem to evolve over musical themes that blend rap and rock with psychedelic nuances The new record has a similar edge to Tyler, the Creator's 2017 album Flower Boy thanks to many similarities in style and production. Chromakopia comes three years after his last one, "Call Me If You Get Lost," which earned the artist a Grammy Award for the best rap album.
Those who were lucky enough to snag $5 tickets got an early preview of the album at a listening party in Los Angeles one day before the official release. The rest of us can tune in from afar to the distinct universe of Chromokopia, available on all streaming services.