Music Review: Tyler, the Creator's 'Chromakopia' looks into the artist's journey to self-discovery

On his seventh workplace album, “Chromakopia,” nan multi-hyphenate Tyler, nan Creator pulls backmost nan curtain. Across 14 tracks, nan rapper calved Tyler Okonma interrogates nan anxieties that travel pinch property and fame, intertwining them pinch his ain contented and immoderate that get via carefully-placed sound messages.

Tyler is simply a jack of each trades excelling crossed industries successful music, manner and television. Like his leader Pharrell Williams, Tyler is known for his unconventional manner consciousness arsenic nan laminitis of luxury label’s Golf Wang and Golf le Fleur, on pinch his tv activity connected nan Adult Swim sketch drama bid “Loiter Squad.” He established his domiciled arsenic a antagonistic taste tastemaker and arguable norm breaker pinch his first mixtape, 2009's “Bastard," and continues to push nan boundaries of euphony — it's nary wonderment his latest merchandise continues to break barriers.

“Chromakopia” starts disconnected beardown pinch “St. Chroma” — an preamble to nan caller masked persona connected nan album's screen — pinch forceful subject cadences successful nan inheritance of some Tyler and R&B vocalist Daniel Caesar’s vocals. A reassuring woman's sound is heard astatine nan beginning, “You are nan light. It’s not connected you. It’s successful you.”

“I ain’t ne'er had a uncertainty wrong me,” he raps. “And if I ever told you that I did, I’m (expletive) lyin’.”

As a whole, nan medium “Chromakopia” represents nan two-time Grammy-award winning artist arsenic he delves into his 30s. In this caller era, he seeks knowing successful each aspects of his life arsenic he seeks to understand himself.

It's not each light, for illustration connected nan way “Like Him,” wherever Tyler explores similarities to an estranged father.

“Give maine emotion and affection / Attention, protection (Go),” he sings successful nan 2nd verse. “How could I ever miss a chance (Go) / That I ne'er had?”

At a listening statement for nan medium successful Inglewood, California, connected Sunday night, Tyler offered a benignant of ngo connection for nan album. “‘Oh, I’m not nan feline I was astatine 20," he said. “I’ve sewage a grey hairsbreadth connected my chest. Life is life-ing. I conscionable wanted to constitute astir worldly I deliberation astir erstwhile I’m dolo,” shorthand for nan slang word “solo dolo,” to mean “by myself.”

He's reasoning astir a lot: “Hey Jane” specifications a gestation scare atop dreamy production, “Take Your Mask Off” tells nan communicative of various characters acrophobic to unrecorded successful their truth. It's arsenic overmuch astir Tyler, nan Creator himself arsenic it is astir them. “I dream you find yourself," he says. "I dream you return your disguise off.”

Lead azygous “Noid” targets celebrity, addressing paranoia and nan unusual parasocial relationships that travel pinch fame successful a claustrophobic, transgressive package. The chorus samples Zambian stone set Ngozi Family’s 1977 track, “Nizakupanga Ngozi.”

But nan medium isn’t each heavy introspection. Tyler is arsenic brash arsenic ever connected for illustration “Thought I Was Dead” and “Rah Tah Tah,” which usage heavy bass that reverberates, felt successful nan listeners' bones.

His nosy and outrageous characteristic isn't hidden, either. It’s intelligibly heard connected tracks for illustration nan cheerful "Sticky” which features Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Sexyy Red and “Balloon,” which features Doechii.

The full album, arsenic stated connected nan “Chromakopia” artwork, was written, produced and arranged by Tyler Okonma. It’s a too-early mid-life memoir, 1 galore 30-somethings will subordinate to: An medium that considers each that he's accomplished, fears and hopes for nan early to come.