Grammys 2026: Tyler, The Creator Explores His Alter Ego, Ambition, and the Cost of Greatness on 'CHROMAKOPIA': Album Review
- Abby Anderson
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Stand-out tracks: "St. Chroma (feat. Daniel Caesar)" "Noid" "Sticky (feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne)"
Our favorites: "Rah Tah Rah" "Darling, I (feat. Teezo Touchdown)" "Balloon (feat. Doechii)"
Release date: October 28, 2024
Label: Columbia Records
For fans of: Childish Gambino, Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar
Grammys Album of the Year prediction: Won't win
Tyler, The Creator has built his career on stark, dominating control and confrontation, but CHROMAKOPIA feels like the an ascendance of his humanity, collapsing into something more groundingly elemental. The album opens with "You are the light / I's not on you, it's in you / Don't you ever in your motherf*cking life dim your light for nobody" coupled with a basic building stomping beat as Tyler builds the ignition of the thematic world of CHROMAKOPIA — a place where the only two choices are to walk towards the light or let it incinerate you from within.
Transitioning seamlessly from "St. Chroma (feat. Daniel Caesar)" to "Rah Tah Tah" Tyler, The Creator takes back the crown in the domain that he thrives in, expectation-exceeding rap that just feels too easy to be so sensational. CHROMAKOPIA refuses to allow for anything less than greatness, and "Noid" leans on horns and synths to check the sonic box in this category, while spoken interludes illustrate the suffocating pressure of having all eyes on you once you reach the top.
Softening on "Darling, I (feat. Teezo Touchdown)" Tyler explores the cataclysmic shift of love on the image of untouchable greatness. Exploring the back and forth of allowing for emotion and locking in on career, Tyler hits a nerve with his view on success: "Nobody could fulfill me like this music shit does / So I'll be lonely with these Grammys when it's all said and done." Getting his edge back, "I Killed You" assumes earthier production to navigate the introspection of doing away with reality or image in the face of that ever-looming complexity of love. And finding comfort in the downbeat, "Judge Judy" is just as free spirited as it's subject matter.
The alter ego Tyler, The Creator adopts in the world of CHROMAKOPIA, Chroma the Great, assumes full form on "Sticky (feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne)" where he commands his crew of fellow rappers with a single line: "Jack of all trades name a n**** who ahead of me/ must be God instead of me."
Reaching it's pinnacle in it's final act, the string of thundering "Thought I Was Dead (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Santigold)", R&B-influenced "Like Him (feat. Lola Young)", and lighthearted "Balloon (feat. Doechii)" puts the chameleon talent of Tyler, The Creator on full display. Building his empire through muisc, Chroma the Great takes no shortcuts on proving his superiority.
Ending far from where he started, "I Hope You Find Your Way Home" is everything an album consumer dreams of: a summary of the project, a journey of self-acceptance through music, a sonic kaleidoscope of every tactic employed in the project's production, and a poignant message to listeners to take CHROMAKOPIA with them after the final note fades.
GRAMMY FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR
In any other year, Tyler, The Creator's comeback would have swept the rap categories at the Grammys. The production is inventive, the album creates a world that's addictively alluring, and the collaborations on CHROMAKOPIA are among the best of the year. The hang up? Kendrick Lamar. With an album rollout and a visual spectacle of a tour linked to CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler earned every nomination without a doubt, including that for Album of the Year, but he just doesn't have the chops to match the reigning king of the Grammys.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TYLER, THE CREATOR:
