On Oct. 28, many people across the globe either pulled an all-nighter or woke up early to hear the newest Tyler, The Creator album, “Chromakopia.” But was it worth it? In my humble opinion, I absolutely think so.

Chromakopia is different from Tyler’s more recent albums, with a variety of genre changes and different-sounding instrumentals and vocal layering, creating an interesting piece of art that transcends space and time. I’m being extremely hyperbolic, but this man is a genius and I need everybody to know how good this album really is.

1. St. Chroma (feat. Daniel Caesar)

St. Chroma is a great opening song for this album for many reasons. It was the first song teased, with an incredibly well shot music video. This song is composed of 3 separate parts that perfectly portray the different kinds of songs that we see throughout the album, as well as introducing the common appearance of Tyler’s mother, who appears multiple times throughout many of the tracks. The chorus is nothing less than ethereal, and feels like floating.

2. Rah Tah Tah

We then pivot over to Rah Tah Tah, a very tonally different song from St. Chroma. The production value on this song is very good, and I think it is a solid track overall. Something that this song does that many other tracks in the album do is this seamless transition between songs. The outro repeats the same sentence over and over again until it is then repeated at the start of Noid, track number three.

3. Noid

Noid was another song that was teased before the full release of the album, and I think it was a safe choice. This song is very similar to a lot of stuff on Tyler’s other albums, and serves as a good way to ease into what comes later. Throughout the song, we hear a sample of a Zambian band play occasionally. The phrase roughly translates to “When you come at my house, please be respectful. Because I don’t like talking too much. Talking too much breeds gossip.” This plays perfectly with the nature of Noid, as the song shares his frustrations with fame and fans. He is sick of rumors and drama being spread about him and his art, or being harassed by fans, and the constant fear of being watched.

4. Darling, 1 (feat. Teezo Touchdown)

Darling, I is a really good song, and is beautifully crafted. This being said, I can’t get past only being able to hear the sample of Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” Even with Pharrell not producing the album, he sneaks his way on there somehow. The song explores his feelings about relationships, specifically in a monogamous way, and how it doesn’t feel right for him. He worries his affection for others is fickle, and shifting at all times. He doesn’t know how to feel about love and how to balance that life with more than one partner, due to his frequent changes.

5. Hey Jane

Hey Jane is once again another great placement in this album, especially right after Darling, I. To have a song about Tyler wanting a non-monogamous relationship, wanting to move around and not be held down, to suddenly getting news that a partner of his is pregnant. Tyler explains to Jane that no matter if she keeps the kid or doesn’t, he will support her decision. We then get a perspective shift, and Tyler starts speaking as Jane. She speaks about her struggle of being pregnant and that she wants to keep it but is scared. We experience her mood swings, her fear of losing what she loves, and her unexpected stress put onto her. This song is one of the best songs in terms of storytelling, and it has such a methodical groove to it.

6. I Killed You

This song contains by far one of my favorite beat switches in any Tyler album, and feels nothing short of wonderful. It follows his struggle with his connection to his hair, and also sense of self. This also has one of my favorite features in the entire album, as Childish Gambino gives an ethereal and beautiful outro.

7. Judge Judy

Here we finally get to what I would consider the first song in the album to be in my top five. Judge Judy is a beautiful song not only in sound but in message and tone. Now, the content of this song is a little too heavy for a school newspaper, so I will do my best to avoid the anti-woke mob here. Judge Judy is about gratification and acceptance. It is a song about trust and grief and learning how to deal with the hardships of it. The placement of the phrase “Judge Judy” changes the meaning each time it is spoken. First, Tyler says he wont judge her for moving so quickly, then states that he doesn’t judge her for the content she is into, until finally revealing that she has a terminal disease, and thanking Tyler for not judging her all this time, and signs her name as a final goodbye. 

8. Sticky (feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne)

I initially wasn’t a huge fan of sticky, I felt that its placement in the album didn’t fit, and it wasn’t really fitting in with the rest of the songs. However, as of recently, this may be one of my favorite songs on the album. It has an insanely loud and energetic sound with a load of features from other artists. Once again, it has a great beat switch while still including the core brass sounds in the song. This is by far the most controversial song in the album due to its placement, and is the most “love it or hate it song” here. But I think this is worthy of the love it deserves. 

9. Take Your Mask Off (feat. Daniel Caesar and LaToiya Williams)

This may be my personal favorite song, though I don’t think it is widely considered to be the best of the album. It has such a soothing sound to it, and has a beautiful rhythm and flow. Tyler talks about how a kid who craved validation from others, and put on an act of being tough and living a hard life, despite living quite comfortably.  It also has a deep message about sexuality and religious struggle, with the second verse being about a pastor who openly speaks out against homosexuality. In the third verse, Tyler reflects on his personality and issues he has with himself, and later reveals that he doesn’t want to have a kid because he is self centered, relating the song back to “Hey Jane”. Tyler feels conflicted about his public persona and how he really wants to be perceived. He wants to “water his roots” and grow as a person, and take off the mask and be truthful. I think it truly has one of the best looks into Tyler, as well as being a great track in terms of production value.

10. Tomorrow

This track talks about how Tyler’s mother, Bonita, is getting older and aging into the latter stages of her life. This may be the reason why she is so heavily featured on the album. The song is accompanied by a soothing chord progression, and has a great instrumental outro. The whole point of this song is to acknowledge how time moves forward, and how Tyler feels he needs to settle down, as he is unhappy with his frivolous life.

11. Thought I Was Dead (feat. Schoolboy Q and Santigold)

This is probably my second favorite song on the album. I am a huge sucker for brass instruments on quite literally any song, and this track is filled with them. This song is filled with clever lyrics and and while there isn’t much I can really dissect about it, it is nothing short of fantastic.

12. Like Him (feat. Lola Young)

Arguably the saddest song on the album, Like Him is a beautiful and hypnotic song that talks about Tyler’s relationship, or lack thereof, with his father. He never got to know him, yet worries that he resembles him not only in looks but in emotion, once again a tie back to “Hey Jane”. This song culminates in Bonita revealing that the absence of his father was because of her, as his father wanted to be in his life. This song has an incredible ending verse, with beautiful backing vocals by Lola Young. Even without the context of the album, this song stands alone with a touching and dramatic story.

13. Balloon (feat. Doechii)

Undisputed banger. It feels very drastically different from the previous song, and that’s why it works. It is representative of distracting Tyler from the problems he is facing with monetary value and physical affirmation, as well as embracing his inner child. It is a very bubbly sounding song, with by far one of the best features on the album by Doechii.

14. I Hope You Find Your Way Home

I genuinely think this is such a great finale to the album as a whole. It is calm, funky, it has a beautiful synth that comes in a third of the way through that makes you feel like God is giving you a million dollars. It ends with a slowed-down backing vocal of St. Chroma as we fade out, finishing the album. 

Now, I have really bad recency bias; I walked out of Dr. Strange 2 thinking it was a masterpiece, then the next day I thought about it and was like “wow this sucks.” Because of this, I don’t really know how to fully rate it. Chromakopia is an album about maturity, finding yourself, and time. And with the time we have, how we feel about art is constantly changing. I may get sick of the album, I may continue to listen to a few songs on repeat, but it is still a fantastic album nonetheless, and I think everybody should really give it a listen.