Hi, everyone. Bigthony Posetano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of the new Tyler, the Creator album, Chromakopia.

Yep. New album here from singer, rapper, songwriter, producer, fashion designer, director, multidisciplinary artist, Tyler, the freaking Creator, who quickly dropped this brand new album of his after a super sudden announcement and single release. I feel like I've barely had time to even process the idea of a new Tyler, the Creator album in front of me. And weirdly, it feels as if his last full-length album, Call Me If You Get Lost, just dropped, too, which is probably the effect of dropping an album that has been proven to have so much staying power that was so much fun to listen to. He also released that extended edition of the record last year that had some really good extra tracks on it. Not to mention, Tyler has done a masterful job in recent years of maintaining his career between huge tours, widely discussed interviews, big collaborations, as well as his continually successful Camp Flog Gnaw Festival.

So even when Tyler isn't in the thick of an album cycle, there's still reason to pay attention to him. And this knack for branding and building his public image is such a welcome 180 from the antagonistic burn it all down approach that he used to take earlier on in his career. It's funny because the Tyler, the Creator of that initial Odd Future era seems to just be long gone now. The effort he's put into handling himself differently in the public eye has most definitely paid off. To the point where you see new young Tyler, the Creator listeners sometimes stumbling upon the lyrical content that lurks within the tracks on albums like Bastard as well as Goblin, and they're shocked.

However, that's not too surprising, considering we're inching up on a decade since Tyler really started to turn a new leaf creatively with the widely accessible Flower Boy in 2017. Really a growth spurt for Tyler in terms of his maturity and artistry as he began to expose and explore his softer side a bit more, and how that balances out with the brash persona that we know him to have, the yin and yang of it all. I mean, keep in mind, the original title of this record was Scum Fuck Flower Boy.

Following this, we had the conceptual and heartbroken love triangle narrative on the record Igor a few years later, an album where Tyler really leaned further into his singing voice and his songwriting chops. But in case you began to lose faith in Tyler as a rapper, here he comes with Call Me If You Get Lost, which is a 16-track flex-athon with some of his most colorful and eccentric bops to date.

With so many commercial and critical successes under his belt right now, you would think Tyler would be essentially extending this victory lap onto his next record. In so many ways, he has all the reason to feel on top of the world right now. However, he took a decidedly dark turn with the promotion of this album, specifically with the first single we heard from it off the bat, "Noid", a track where Tyler isn't so much hype about his fame, but he is more skeptical of it, afraid of it, or afraid of what comes with it. Because from start to finish on this track, he is deeply paranoid of the motivations of his of fans, of lovers, of most of the people around him, really. Which is a new angle for Tyler, the Creator, topically, but I feel like this narrative has brought out an older version of himself here, one that is more confrontational with his audience, his contemporaries, and the world around him.

Also across this album, Tyler makes it clear that he is still struggling to find himself and his way, and he's just being very frank and open about it. That's where I feel like Tyler's experience and artistic maturity at this point comes in, because he now has the perspective and the steady hand to be able to provide interesting meta-commentary on these overwhelming feelings and give us some extravagant and creative production, too. Like with the opening track, "St. Chroma", which features these lush layers of pianos and vocal harmonies, pianos and synths, too, which are all propelled by this backbone of dramatic stomping, marching feet. There's a whole whispered intro verse on the track as well, where Tyler not only continues to express skepticism about his fame, but he also wrestles with his need to create or show his creativity, his light, with just this desire to completely quit everything that he's doing.

This track serves as a very grand setup for the following "Rah Tah Tah". Quick segue into this one, which is really a banger that sets the tone for the record with some loud production and lyrics that paint a character portrait of Tyler's current self, his current mentality. The production on this thing is eerie, it's bassy, it's heavy, it's dark, but very eccentric and cartoony, too. It's like if you could take a horror core beat but make it into something that Missy Elliott could be on top of. I don't draw the horror core comparison to cite any edginess going on in the content of the track. I mean, there is an element of horror going on in terms of Tyler's fear of things that could happen to him with his fans or weirdos learning where he lives. There's a bar on here where he says something about being sloppy if you get sloppy where you sleep at. I mean, all in all, this track feels like a cut that could have come off of Call Me If You Get Lost, but if you could make it darker and just more fearful.

Tyler dives deeper into these feelings on the next track, the lead single to the record, "Noid", which I just went over. But I will say, additionally, I'm not as crazy about the production as I am the core narrative on this track as I feel like the beat is flat, the guitar riffs are very basic and plain, and the moments that do actually work musically deeper into the song feel like a leftover from the the Igor era.

Still, next on the record, we have "Darling Eye", which is a track that introduces another core theme of the album, and that would be love and relationships, or at least the way Tyler feels comfortable operating within them now because that paranoia and that need for independence and distance has created a situation where he is really struggling with the idea of intimacy. Of course, Tyler would essentially write an ethical non-monogamy jam on this one, an open relationship anthem, which I think in concept is fine, but the very kooky tone of the instrumental and the vocals leaves the whole track feeling like send up of old-school RnB tunes, like we're getting a parody of something when the track actually could have been super solid with just a better, cleaner execution. And while I do think lines and refrains about forever being too long and continuing to fall in love definitely bring the track's central message home in a catchy way. The spoken word bridge is not quite as good and reads like one of those cringe conversations that your boyfriend forces you into when they're trying to open the relationship up. Yeah, I think we should see other people, and I don't want to own you or control you.

Still, this direction of things does get more interesting on the record with the following, "Hey Jane", where in the lyrics of this track, Tyler gets someone pregnant. Interestingly enough, he actually raps from the perspectives of both people involved in this situation here in a way that comes across genuine and complex and complicated in the way that a situation like this would actually be. Look, conceptually, I'll say the track is not pretty. I don't think it's supposed to be. Tyler doesn't even come across in the best light as he doesn't really read his feeling any type of way about potentially not being in this kid's life. However, this does come full circle a little bit on the record as he processes more of his abandonment issues, which we will get into. But yeah, the sweet idyllic instrumental on this one is not mind-blowing or anything like that. There are lots of sweet chord changes and lead melodies that I think are great. For the most part, this track just has production that sets the stage really well for the storytelling that is on top.

Following this, though, we have "I Killed You", which provides a really interesting switch up instrumentally and topically as this track is very much about the politics of hair within the Black community. (Obviously, something I wouldn't know anything about.) But still, I can appreciate the track for its interesting lyrical metaphors throughout where Tyler likens the natural state of his hair, where he's not combing it, throwing chemicals in it, altering it in some way as being embarrassing to him on some level, like the presence of a person who he doesn't like. Like I said, the production provides an interesting change, too, as I think, aesthetically, it feels like something from either the Goblin or the Wolf era a bit in terms of just all of its synth layers. The types of leads and patches that Tyler tends to favor are definitely on this track in full force. However, at this point, with all of his experience, he definitely has the capacity to write and mix with these sounds in a way that doesn't keep them feeling cheap and thrown together.

Frankly, as someone who was super critical of Tyler's production early on, it's just amazing to hear that growth. Next, though, on the record at the midpoint we have this freak flag flying trio of tracks, "Judge Judy" being the first of them, which is this explorative sex anthem where Tyler meets someone who allows him to really go into the more taboo side of his carnal desires. Fetish stuff, bondage stuff, all that. But obviously, he doesn't judge. That is the Judge Judy component of the song. We're not judging. We're not judging Judy. But again, despite the very serious tone of the track lyrically, a lot of the singing and the production leaves it feeling like we're listening to a skit or Tyler's doing a gag. Not to mention the track for being as sexual as it is doesn't really bring a whole lot of sex appeal to the table. Plus on this song, we also do have another over extended narrative bridge where the "Judge Judy" chorus reads like an awful bar or two from Kanye's Jesus is King era. It's like that level of writing. Plus all the sex moans at the very end of the track are just very awkward to sit through. It's like Tyler is putting the audience against their will in the cuck chair.

Things do pick up, however, on the following track, "Sticky", which is wild and brash. Really the most exciting track on the entire record, but also one of the most difficult to put into words because there is so much coming together on this song. It's like Tyler is pulling all of his inspiration from Cartoon Network show soundtracks, 2000s era Southern hip hop trunk knockers, drum lines, horn lines. It's really an explosion of sound. I also love that it starts off in such a raw, skeletal place with the chants and the whistling and gradually grows into something truly massive with a series of very short, punchy, and sweet features from the likes of Glorilla, Sexyy Redd, and Lil Wayne.

Then after this, the track "Take Your Mask Off" is like a combination of a very synthy lofi soul and old-school hip hop. The ultimate message of this track is be yourself. Be your true self, your actual self. Don't hide behind that mask. Don't pretend to be anything for anybody else. Tyler explores this idea with a series of verses that essentially dives into a bunch of character archetypes of people are just pretending to be something that they're not or forcing themselves into a mold, be that a rapper with face tattoos or a domesticated mother who feels repressed in her family setting. It's almost like he's doing a Kendrick "Sing About Me" type thing, but just in a way that relates more to him and his own journey with being more honest with who he is with himself and his audience.

Of course, all of this comes full circle at the very end of the track where the final and last and most hard-hitting verse is Tyler directing all this criticism to be true to himself to himself, citing moments in his past and present where he wasn't really being mask off.

After this is the song "Tomorrow" which I think conceptually does fit really nice into the overall narrative of the record, but I still wish there was more to it. It feels like an underexplored interlude in the grander scheme of the tracklist. Tyler lyrically seems to confront the long-term viability of his career on this one, starts to really consider the life goals and events that he's missing out on by sinking so much of himself in his career, and that's it. It's like his own little Charlie XCX, "I Think About it All the Time" type moment, as he doesn't seem alone in this current day phenomenon of artists essentially being put on this hamster wheel of work to do, of things to engage in when they reach a certain level of popularity.

Following this, though, the track "Thought I Was Dead" brings the momentum back up with a hype diversion. I don't think this song adds as much conceptually to this record as many other tracks do, but it's still a bold moment. The horns and chants come back into the fold, and they still sound great. There is a solid and aggressive schoolboy cue feature on the song, too. Tyler also has a nice solid verse on the track. As far as the attitude of his vocal delivery and writing, it feels like we are getting a much older version of himself once again. It's a bit edgy, it's aggressive, it's in your face, it's confrontational. He is once again wrestling with his fame in a way that is reminiscent of how he did it on Goblin. But once again, he now has enough maturity and perspective to actually rage on the topic without giving the audience second-hand embarrassment.

Then we really go into a dark place on "Like Him", which I think is maybe the most emotionally raw Tyler has ever been on any song in his career so far. I mean, it's not the most explicit track in terms of its meaning. Tyler is not aggressively rapping his inner thoughts to you on this one. But still, this is the most emotionally monumental part of the record where he's really going into his daddy issues and seeing his father in himself as he gets older, which just serves as a reminder of that relationship with him that he didn't have. Additionally, with an outro from Tyler's mom, where she's seeking his forgiveness because she owns up to the role that she played in Tyler not really having that connection with his dad.

Again, this track brings a lot of the themes of the album full circle because this seemingly is like the linchpin for Tyler's fear of intimacy, the responsibilities, and the adulthood that he's running from with his work and his career. With this realization that Tyler leaves, I think, a bit of a cliffhanger here. I think he opens up the door for a potential resolution on these issues.

We get the song "Balloon" which is like an uplifting switch up that's super bright and positive with all these glistines listening pianos. A great feature, a wild feature from Doechii, where her and Tyler are just bleeding, just oozing bisexual chemistry in every direction. The queef bar that she drops on this track is insane.

It's a short and sweet celebratory cut that brings us to the closing track, which I think is a very strong ending for the album. We have lots of glamorous piano cords and synth leads that essentially set the stage for some verses where Tyler gets off his chest. A lot of thoughts that round up the core themes of the album about where he is in his life and his career and whether or not he wants to have kids, so on and so forth. This is also another moment on the album where Tyler poses himself as an example for the audience. As earlier on the record, he expresses a hope for listeners to take their mask off and be themselves. On this track, he is expressing a hope that listeners find their way home. Find whatever place that you need to be at, which is a nice sentiment to hear because as standoffish as Tyler can be in interviews or when dealing with fans who want to get in his space, he reaches out to his audience where it truly counts, like actually in his art.

That's clearly where he's the most comfortable with being himself in front of them and sharing his insights and also providing emotional support of some sort, which should be enough, frankly, because at the end of the day, Tyler is not your friend, he's not your mentor. He's not your therapist. But he is a genuinely good entertainer, and his art sometimes can be very therapeutic and cathartic.

Overall, though, Chromakopia, I loved it. I thought it was great, but I do have some general criticisms for the record as the first leg of the record was somewhat weak. Plus, "Judge Judy" didn't really feature the best songwriting or singing either. There are moments where I feel like Tyler's cartoonish delivery and production style does get the better of him. Also on this record, I don't feel like he spent enough time further developing his sound in a way to where it would come across as something genuinely new, something that would actually contrast with past releases if anything; a lot of the production on this record feels like something that could have come off of Igor or could have come off of Call Me If You Get Lost, which isn't inherently a bad thing, but it does lead to a lack of overall thrills as an album experience.

Still, I think with this record, you can genuinely put another one on the board for Tyler, who continues to be such a refreshing contrast from a lot of everything else in the mainstream. Even if Chromakopia isn't Tyler's best, it's still a cut above the rest, which is why I'm feeling a light 8 on this album.

Anthony Fantano. Tyler, the Creator. Forever.