It’s safe to say no one saw a new Tyler, The Creator album coming.
After trolling fans throughout the year, repeatedly saying that he wasn’t going to drop any new music in 2024, Tyler surprised everyone with the announcement of his eighth album, CHROMAKOPIA, earlier this week. Revealing the album’s intro track and trailer “St. Chroma,” there’s a lot to unpack as Tyler’s upcoming project, and Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, loom closer each day.
Much like any Tyler album, expect a rollercoaster of a rollout, innovative production choices and something you’ve never seen (or heard) before. Here’s five things you need to know ahead of CHROMAKOPIA:
His new character is based on a book
Tyler’s latest alter ego seems to be loosely based on The Phantom Tollbooth, the 1961 novel written by Norton Juster. It follows Milo, a bored boy who discovers a magical tollbooth that takes him on an adventure. He meets Chroma The Great, whose main job is to “conduct the orchestra that colors each day; without him and the instruments, the world would have no color at all.” In other words, Chroma (or Tyler in this instance) controls the sunrise and sunset: the color of the world.
It doesn’t seem as bright and sunny in CHROMAKOPIA though. In “St. Chroma,” the visual starts off as a black-and-white picture, exploding into color once the line of face-covered figures enter the green CHROMAKOPIA crate which bursts into flames at the push of a button. Chroma’s name also represents “color,” as Tyler, The Creator looks to conduct his own dark symphony as a militant leader donning a molded mask and a general’s outfit. (Easter Egg: CHROMA can be spotted standing at the opening of “SORRY NOT SORRY”). Other references like David Bowie’s HEROES appear to have inspired CHROMA’s artwork
The album will not drop on New Music Friday
Deviating from typical new music releases on Friday, Tyler’s been an advocate for the return of mid-week drops for a while now.
In an interview with Nardwuar last year, the GOLF le FLEUR maestro explained why he feels dropping an album during the week provides a more natural listening experience. “I think it’s a lot of passive listening [on the weekend],” he said. “If you put it out during the week… you really have that time to ‘dive in’ and really listen.”
Up until 2015, the industry standard was to release new music on Tuesday. It was moved to Fridays in effort to combat piracy due to the rise of the streaming era. The surprise release of Beyoncé’s self-titled album in 2013 (which dropped on a Friday instead of Tuesday) played a pivotal role in this change years later.
There will be no features… maybe
With Tyler, The Creator, everything is intentional—and hidden in plain sight. As speculation swirls around WHO is in the line Tyler leads into the CHROMAKOPIA crate, the album’s feature list may have been revealed already.
We know that Daniel Caeser is a part of the CHROMA universe—confirming that he recorded vocals for the album’s lead track “St. Chroma.” These potential collaborators, which are all covered black masks, range from names like Aminé, Kendrick Lamar, Steve Lacy, 21 Savage, Brent Faiyaz and Frank Ocean, among others. However, Tyler debunked this on social media, saying that the album will not have any features via a cryptic “FUCKKK FEATURES” X bio change and on IG.
Interestingly, CHROMAKOPIA is set to release on Frank Ocean’s birthday, which is also Oct. 28.
Tyler’s two-year album cycle has been broken
Tyler, The Creator is the KING of consistency. Ever since he released his debut mixtape BASTARD in 2009, he has tightly followed a two-year album pattern; GOBLIN (2011); WOLF (2013); Cherry Bomb (2015); Flower Boy (2017); IGOR (2019); Call Me If You Get Lost (2021). While The Estate Sale was shared in 2023, it’s an extension of the CMIYGL universe, comprised of eight songs made during that era. So that doesn’t count. Now, as CHROMAKOPIA eyes a October 2024 release, Tyler’s two-year cycle has officially been broken, along with its weirdly coincidental Fast and Furious lore.
All songs are written, produced and arranged by Tyler himself
In true Tyler fashion, every song on the album will be entirely “written, produced and arranged by Tyler Okonma.” Much like Flower Boy, IGOR and Call Me If You Get Lost, CHROMAKOPIA looks to be another self-painted universe from the one-of-one creative mind of CHROMA. A master of rollouts and world-building, no one “does it all” better than the generational Tyler, The Creator.
Check back for CHROMAKOPIA on Oct. 28!