Tyler the Creator’s new album, Chromokopia, marks a new, exhilarating chapter of his artistic journey. It’s no small deal, and in fact, we feel he’s tying his past six albums together with just one album. With several recent teasers released over the past few days, Tyler is showcasing his creativity and thematic depth, each bit of information giving us a lot to look forward to, with each snippet from the teasers leaving one hint after another, blending visual artistry with cryptic messages and ideas. These glimpses from Tyler are giving an insight into his project, sparking the interest of fans and critics alike.
The first thing we noticed is the title of his new album. Tyler’s past albums were all words in English, but what could Chromokopia mean? Chroma means: ‘Purity or Intensity of Color’, but we do not know what ‘kopia’ means. Many have begun to theorize that kopia means ‘copy’. Another similar reach from this speculation of ours could be related to ‘Chromophobia’, fear of color. Both of these ideas potentially imply deeper meanings or interpretations of racial bias and representation. Especially because it’s been a trend in Tyler the Creator’s past songs.
We connect this information on the title to the creative usage of color in the teasers. There is a constant shift between a black-and-white setting and a setting color. In the black and white setting, there are negative tones present, whether it be solemn and slow, or quick and angry sounding. This is contrasted with the light setting, where there are more vibrant colors, upbeat tones, and an overall more positive design. You see more of the black-and-white setting compared to the light setting.
The place you can best see this usage of color is the teaser “St. Chroma”. There is a single-file line of people, in the black and white setting defined prior, marching towards a crate labeled “Chromokopia”. There is one man at the front, wearing an army suit. These individuals have no faces, and are in what seems to be suits, following the man in front and performing an army-like march. Us and many others speculate some people in the march are “features” of the new album, as some of the people are believed to display resemblance to popular music artists. Once everybody from the line has walked into the crate, there is an explosion, returning the color to the scene. There is a similar explosion with the same utilization of color in another teaser for this album labeled “Chromokopia: The World Tour”.
Stepping away from the title and colors, another creative trait from not only Tyler’s Chromokopia album but also prior albums is that he includes ‘alter-egos’ for each album. Each alter-ego is a different facet of Tyler himself, with an alter-ego for each album. but Tyler represents each alter-ego as a person, enriching his narratives. These alter egos include, but are not limited to: Goblin, Wolf, Cherry Bomb, Flower Boy, Igor, and Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale (CMIYGLES). In one of Tyler’s music videos “Sorry Not Sorry”, there is a new individual, speculated by us to be a new alter-ego that is not based on an album. This individual is shirtless, depicted to look more wild, going around to each alter ego while the song is playing, and dragging them off screen one by one. permanently removing them from the scene.
This teaser is the only time all of these alter-egos are displayed together, and they’re displayed on a stage, with an audience of people. This piqued our curiosity, because this time, we see an extended period of ‘color’. Another thing we picked up on, is that it may contain a connection to the recent song “Noid”, which discusses in great depth Tyler’s paranoia of being watched.
Overall, after reviewing details and theorizing on Tyler’s new album, we believe that Tyler the Creator is pushing the boundaries of his artistry, paving a path for a new theme of music. His innovative ideas and encrypted messages have the potential to reshape not just the Chromokopia album but also change the landscape of his albums to follow. It’s an exhilarating time for both longtime fans and critics alike and has many on the edge of their seats.
