Bop or Flop: Staffers debate the quality of Tyler, the Creator’s new album, “CHROMAKOPIA”

The best feeling in the world is waking up on a cool Monday morning to listen to a new Tyler, the Creator album. Every time this happens, I just know I’ll be playing the album on repeat for the next week.

“CHROMAKOPIA,” Tyler, the Creator’s seventh studio album, toys with interesting themes like maturity and Tyler’s complicated relationship with fame. For fans, the album includes tracks made to draw both “Cherry Bomb” and “IGOR” album lovers in.

“St. Chroma,” the opening track, sets the album’s tone as it floats Daniel Caesar’s harmonies over a marching beat, complete with a Tyler trademark: a heavy, blaring beat switch. As always, Tyler brings dozens of layers of audio production to the album that tie it together and peg it as one of his best tracks.

The second song on the track, “Rah Tah Tah,” moves from the mature theme of the album into a bar-heavy, instrumental-driven song. Tyler nods to Kendrick Lamar in the track with the line: “I’m the biggest out the city after Kenny,” to pay homage to a legend that unfortunately isn’t featured on the album.

Background harmonies reappear in “NOID” as Tyler raps about his discomfort with fame. He begs to be left alone by paparazzi and overzealous fans in his lyrics. The honesty of Tyler throughout this track is remarkable, and it’s honestly refreshing to hear in comparison to his impossible-to-embarrass persona that I’m used to.

Daniel Caesar reappears along with Latoiya Williams on “Take Your Mask Off,” a song with the synth influences of “IGOR” laced throughout. Tyler raps about people using masks to hide their identities, eventually rapping about himself, and removing his mask of confidence. The track will surely stand as one of the best on the album, between the song’s honesty and the signature heavy Tyler production.

One track that makes me want to get up and dance is “Sticky,” with many features including Lil Wayne. Trumpets, synth chords and heavy cymbals lead the track through its simpler lyrics. The track sits between some of the album’s more serious songs, like “Take Your Mask Off,” creating an entertaining buffer.

In both “Daring, I” and “Hey Jane,” Tyler unpacks his issues with commitment and regret in relationships throughout his life, allowing listeners to relate to his past regrets.

The album closes out with “I Hope You Find Your Way Home,” driven by a slower, synth-lead. Tyler urges listeners and himself to follow their journeys, which certainly touched me through his frankness.

The album contrasts with Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers,” which happens to be one of my favorites from his discography. Both artists made these albums later in their career and pulled back the curtains into their minds. 

Tyler’s album is laced with advice from his mother, Bonita Smith, as he ‘takes his mask off’ and reveals his true struggles and thoughts, a vulnerable and fitting end to the album. “CHROMAKOPIA” is one of Tyler, The Creator’s best albums to date, so if you get in my car expect to hear “Take Your Mask Off” or “Rah Tah Tah” blaring on the speakers.

Piano riffs, electro organ thumps and whispers of wind instruments surrounded the primitive, disorganized production in Tyler, the Creator’s new album “Chromakopia,” released on Oct. 28.

Tyler, The Creator spent three years crafting this album, yet I couldn’t even finish “Judge Judy,” a four minute, 25 second long song without cringing at the lyrics. It’s a wonder that this album took three years to make when an amateur artist could’ve done the same in three weeks.

Even with features from nine other artists, including hip-hop legend Lil Wayne, this album was a tattered patchwork quilt of seemingly AI generated rap choruses and lackluster beat drops.

Boring beats were sprinkled throughout these lyrics, which only made the listener question why they decided to listen to this album, and forced them to reminisce of elementary school experiments with Garageband. 

The album proves that despite having a unique, eye-catching album cover, boredom is still possible. I read the wordy Apple Music description of Tyler, the Creator’s intense efforts he went to produce this song, to try and convince myself it wasn’t a total waste of time.  

“Chromakopia’s” unfortunate lyrical repetitiveness, such as reiterating “thousand on it” four times in “Rah Tah Tah” and boring reggae-like beat, made the album appear as if it was an incomplete assignment submitted at 11:59 p.m. on a Sunday night.

Even the nods to the artist’s African roots with the sample of Zamrock, a blend of traditional Zambian music and 70’s rock, couldn’t cover up the poor lyrics. They were boring compared to the lyrics of past albums such as Call Me If You Get Lost.

However, even with some horrid songs such as “Like Him,” “Judge Judy” and “Sticky,” the entirety of the album wasn’t stained with the cheesy basic hip hop feeling of those three songs.

The lyrical composition in “Darling I,” had a vintage, 90’s hip-hop feel to it with the only well-crafted lyrics any listener could pick out from the shoddy rest of the album. 

This song had actual choruses and melodies. “Darling I,” broke up the repetitive rap that agonizes listeners, with a wondrous, Frank Ocean-like, R&B foundation.

But the rest of the album mirrored a recent Kanye song, “Donda Chant,” a song steeped in repeating “Donda” hundreds of times, making the listener want to bang their head against a wall until the music stops. 

If you never get a chance to hear “Chromakopia” by Tyler, the Creator, don’t. The only thing you’re missing if you choose not to listen to it,  is its mind-numbing verses and heinous insults to well-written music.