Students Rave over CHROMAKOPIA

Photo by Jessie Moss

On Oct. 28, Tyler Gregory Okonma, professionally known as “Tyler, The Creator,” released his seventh studio album, CHROMAKOPIA. The album, a combination of R&B, jazz, and hip-hop, featured Daniel Caesar, Teezo Touchdown, GloRilla, Sexxy Red, Lil Wayne, Latoiya Williams, ScHoolboy Q, Santigold, Lola Young, and Doechii. Ada Eversmann (‘28) noted, “I loved the addition of GloRilla and Sexxy Red. They sounded really good with Tyler’s style of music.”

The album, whose title was likely a reference to a Greek root connoting color of varying purity and intensity, had fourteen songs in which Okonma explored the responsibilities and expectations of getting older, his growing fame, and his changing perception of his parents. A notable throughline throughout is Oknoma’s reflection on his childhood, especially his mom Bonita Smith’s influence on him as he entered adulthood. Eversmann (‘28) said, “I think the main theme definitely has to do with his mother, who is the narrator in the back of a lot of the songs, giving him advice. While he doesn’t directly answer her in his songs, he shows the influence that she has had on his life.”

In Like Him, the twelfth track on the album, Okonma explores his changing perception of his father. Ava Barcelona (‘25) explained, “Like Him was written after Tyler realized his father, who he’d hated for not being in his life, actually wanted to be in his life the whole time. The song is emotionally charged and honestly felt really vulnerable, which made it hit harder for me.” Eversmann added, “My dad has been present my whole life, but I still feel like I can really feel his emotions in his songs, even though I haven’t experienced what he has.”

Favorite tracks among students included Noid, Darling, I, Judge Judy, Hey Jane, and Take Your Mask Off. An anonymous senior noted that, “Noid stood out for how different it is from other Tyler work. The sample of the Zambian band was so cool and worked very well.” Barcelona (‘25) added, “I loved Noid on my first listen. The sample was fantastic, and the guitar was a really interesting departure from his usual sound.  Barcelona further noted that “Judge Judy and Hey Jane took me a little bit to get into, but I think the storylines in both were well-fleshed-out—I think Tyler portrayed his relationships with women in a way you don’t often see with more traditional rap artists.” Jett Morad-McCoy (‘26) said, “Take Your Mask Off was probably the best lyrically.”

Following the resoundingly successful article, students are excited to see more from Okonma. Eversmann explained, “I want to hear more of his storytelling, which I think he’s really good at,” Eversmann’s words reflected a common sentiment as Morad-McCoy added that he would like to see, “More personal work and storytelling as well as exploring more genres.” Finally, Barcelona expressed, “I don’t know what direction he’ll go next, but he always found a way to evolve, so I’m interested to see.”

If you liked the album, Tyler, The Creator, was coming to the Capital One Arena on April 1, 2025, to perform CHROMAKOPIA—so snag tickets while you can!