CHROMAKOPIA

by

Tyler, The Creator

Man, Tyler's production. Feel like it's got so mature and crispy over the years. He knows exactly what he wants. Sometimes that's annoying. Feel like every album has a song like Hey Jane where he just goes in on some concept over a sparse beat. He has his ways, he creates his worlds, sometimes it feels formulaic but this album really surprised me. As someone whose not really a fan of the character thing he does like on Igor, I was hesitant about this when the first video dropped, but pleasantly surprised when the character was just a masked up version of himself. He calls this his most personal album and you can tell.

I went back and listened to Goblin after hearing this a few times and it holds up a lot better than I thought it would. You can see all the threads and sounds that have coalesced over the years and really been perfected here. As someone who used to laugh along to Bitch Suck Dick and yell SWAG like Mos Def on that first Fallon performance I miss a little of that wild energy but the artistic development is wild too.

The character of having everything he's ever wanted and still not being fulfilled by life is relatable but also fuck you Tyler. As great as the personal shit is, I wish he write outside himself a little bit. Yes, he's great, accomplished, rich, etc. But what else does he have to say? 48 might be my favorite song of his evers, maybe because it felt so unconventional for him. Apparently this album started off as an exploration of the LA neighborhoods he grew up in, kinda want to hear that album next.

Thoughts on individual tracks... STICKY is a certified banger, Judge Judy has Thundercat on bass and FEELS like it, and Balloons is infectious as hell. Those are my favorites but the only thing I don't really like is Hey Jane. Tyler is one of the most authentic and inspiring artists of our times, don't think he's had to compromise his art once, but what do you get for the man who has everything? As a fan I am happy for him, but I just feel like he could be saying more. Glad he's saying stuff at all.