Tyler Rejects Tradition and Ushers In Duality.
On Chromokopia, Tyler takes some of the thoughts from previous albums and tackles where trauma and tradition collide.
On St.Chroma, we get the prideful image, a track which sort of encapsulates his entire brand in short, a artist that’s proud of his work and someone who has said time and time again that walking your own path will always be the best path for you, all over the sounds of marching and Daniel Cesar vocals.
Tyler really starts to get in his pocket and strengths when the album reaches Darling, I. A very upbeat love song that flexes his range as an artist, especially when it comes to producing.
But, what I really love about this album is how Tyler tackles some social issues, regardless of how I feel he approaches the song from a musical perspective. From Hey Jane touching on perspective, parenthood and abortion, to Tyler deconstructing and reconstructing himself on I Killed You, Tyler gives a lot of his fans and haters the nitty gritty that they wish for, but not sacrificing his other strengths.
For my favorite stretch of the album, we get to Take Your Mask Off, where Tyler tackles certain archetypes of people in society from the guy who isn’t really from the streets, to the pastor that hides behind religion to mask his true self, to the woman who wants to live out her dreams and her true life…to a plot twist that seems to be Tyler ripping into himself, calling himself selfish which is why he doesn’t want kids, or the lack of recognition he gets for his musical endeavors compared to some of his peers. Asking himself the biggest question of them all is he enough? Then, approaching the thought of getting old, not because of the physical effects, but more so the experiences that he’s missing out on and family. Does he have more to accomplish and does he feel like he can accomplish that still if he settles down for family life.
But, the connection between Thought I Was Dead and I killed you comes to fruition. It seems as if Tyler thinks he took away his old self when those traits are still there, but to a degree is there really anything wrong with that. He admits he’s a troll, he’s confident about his work and more. All over a Jamba/Tamale reminiscent beat featuring Schoolboy Q. And then, the we get one of the biggest truth bombs of Tyler’s career, that his father wanted to be his life, but his mother would not let him, which is revealed using audio of Tyler’s mother speaking that’s also on other tracks of the album as well. Now, if you’ve ever kept up with Tyler and his career, the vitriol for his father is certainly not unknown. Tying back to the song Answer on Wolf. We often talk about how our circumstances shape us, but, does Tyler ever become Tyler if he knew that information at an earlier age. Then, the album ends on I Hope You Find Your Way Home, where Tyler looks back on a cumulation of the choices, traits that made him.
Although Tyler’s production may not be everyone’s cup of tea, he shows how sharp his pen can be when it comes down to it. Chromokopia is the tale of a person that is forever evolving. To become a new person doesn’t always require radical changes everywhere, or sometimes it does. You don’t always have to stick to your guns, or maybe you do. But, there’s always an equilibrium. There’s always a choice.
