Image from Wikipedia. Top: Chromakopia Album Cover.
Over the last decade, the rapper Tyler, the Creator has established himself as one of the biggest musical artists in recent memory. He’s the 48th-most-listened-to artist in the world on Spotify, and he’s released many incredibly successful albums—for example, 2019’s Igor, which won Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. And on October 28th, 2024, Tyler released his eighth studio album, Chromakopia—which he wrote, produced and arranged himself.
Chromakopia immediately made waves. It was streamed over 85 million times on Spotify on its first day, making it the biggest hip-hop album debut of 2024 on Spotify, and the 16th-most-streamed album on Spotify in a single day of all time. Like Igor, it debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 299,500 album-equivalent units and making 142,000 pure sales, and the tracks Noid and St. Chroma peaked at number 10 and 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Although I knew of him due to his massive popularity, I’d never actually listened to much of Tyler’s discography before Chromakopia, and what I had listened to wasn’t to my taste. Therefore, I went into Chromakopia expecting to dislike it—but I was pleasantly surprised. Chromakopia is a solid and musically interesting album with some standout songs that I’d gladly give repeat listens. My top pick from this album is Darling, I, a musically beautiful song with soaring instrumentation and an incredibly catchy bridge that’s still stuck in my head. The lyrics, about Tyler’s attitude to love and relationships, are candid and occasionally heart-wrenching (“So I’ll be lonely with these Grammys when it’s all said and done”), although they sometimes feel awkward against the rest of the song. If you ask me, Chromakopia is an easy 8/10, and I’d definitely recommend listening to it, whether or not you’ve had previous experience with Tyler’s music.
But, what do our fellow Huskies think about Chromakopia? Sophomore Rayaan Haque said, “I really loved how the rhythm for all these songs went. Despite being toned differently, Tyler somehow made them flow really well.”
“I had listened to Flower Boy before this,” Haque continued, “and I’d say that Chromakopia is on par with Flower Boy, but goes in a much different direction, as you can see with the tones of both of them.”
Freshman Ahana Mirani, an avid fan of Tyler, commented, “Chromakopia is definitely a 10/10. [It] was definitely more relatable and deeper to people than Tyler’s other albums, because usually his albums are about stories based on things he’s felt—but they aren’t real. Chromakopia was real, which made it deep. It contained real life stories that a lot of people relate to.”
Mirani continued, “I loved the album musically, because it was so unique how he mixed different elements I didn’t even know could be mixed. Chromakopia felt a lot more jazzy, and it had more unique elements that I haven’t heard in his other albums. Each album of his is something new, which is why everybody was so hyped up for this album. Specific musical aspects I liked were the bridge in Like Him; the mix of different instruments, like trumpet, in Sticky, a rap song; and the fact that he added rapping in a different language in the song Noid, which I thought was super cool.”
Finally, Mirani compared Chromakopia to previous Tyler albums. “Chromakopia reminded me of Flower Boy and Call Me If You Get Lost. Flower Boy was fresh—it was about self-discovery—and in Chromakopia, Tyler discovers the light within him and other things in his life that have to do with the people around him. [Chromakopia] reminds me of Call Me If You Get Lost because in both albums, he adds references to his previous albums—which you know people love—and the storytelling. In both albums, he tried to seem nonchalant, like he’s living the life, reminding everybody of how he’s superior, but in other songs you can see him break a little, and he starts to talk more about his feelings and problems.”
Chromakopia is another smash-hit album from one of the world’s most successful rappers, and a very good album at that. It’s loved by people around the world, including many of our fellow Huskies, and it absolutely deserves a listen. So the next time you want to listen to a rap album, try Chromakopia, and you won’t regret it.
Arjun Mathur is a freshman at Washington High School. He was born in Fremont and has lived here for his whole life. This is his first year at the Hatchet, and he’s interested in writing an opinions column or writing about the arts and life in Fremont. In his spare time, Arjun enjoys reading books, writing essays, watching YouTube, playing video games, talking to his friends, and listening to music. In the future, he wants to go to college, and become a history teacher or do something in psychology.