Grammy winning rapper Tyler Okonma also known as Tyler, the Creator is taking the internet by storm over the drop of his eighth studio album and his most anticipated project “CHROMAKOPIA,” due to his new style of production on every album.
However, he continued to use a similar production style from his previous grammy winning albums “IGOR” and “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST,” which attracted a large audience with its mixture of west-coast hip-hop, with some experimental and alternative rap with jazz, neo-soul, boom-bap, and R&B production. Due to this, his album is gathering mixed reviews from the media due to fans expecting an entirely new style of music.
“CHROMAKOPIA was way better than I imagined because I had high expectations and it’s safe to say he definitely exceeded them,” junior Natalie Campeau said. “I can say with the story Tyler narrates; it raises my respect for him, and I’d say this album is a 9/10. I’d put it in between IGOR and Wolf for my favorites.”
Controversial music critic Anthony Fantano for his takes on music from “The Needle Drop” social media platform voices his honest opinion on Tyler’s album, giving it a “Light 8” out of 10. “I think with this project, you can really 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’ll be giving this album a light 8,” Fantano said. “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 a bit weak.
Fantano then gives his opinion on the production style and songwriting on the album. He gives his view in comparison to his past albums. Shedding some light to the topic of bringing the old back.
” ‘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”, Fantano said. “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.” (The Needle Drop.com).
Tyler tells a story about his life experiences, stating he must wear a mask because it hides the insecurities that he would feel telling this with his real identity. With tracks like “Hey Jane” talking about a pregnancy scare and “Take your mask off’ talking about his insecurities and struggle to be more open, as well as the track “Noid” makes him feel anxiety from the media attention and the fact that he feels someone is always watching him and that they can’t give him any privacy.
“The story was so enjoyable, I loved how he spoke about his real-life situations as well as involving characters in tracks like “Hey Jane” and “Like Him,” senior Kyrollos Youssef said. “My favorite track was “Like Him” because it hits so deep and the way he spoke about his dad always wanting to be in his life but his mom didn’t let it happen was a shocking twist.”
Some people didn’t enjoy the album and say it wasn’t familiar with the style of music they usually prefer.
“I don’t like the album because I like artists that are more lyrically gifted like Drake and J Cole because they actually fit my taste compared to someone like Tyler,” junior Michael Rice said. “I didn’t like the style of music on CHROMAKOPIA, nor did I like the lyrics or the way he told the stories. “Rah Tah Tah” was terrible for me because of the beat and the weird lyrics.”
The album CHROMAKOPIA sold 300,000 units in the first week and delivered 85.6 million streams on Spotify in the first full day of the album coming out. delivering with real storytelling, unique lyricism, and interesting and mixed production themes.
