My Chromakopia Full Review
- Max
- Oct 28, 2024
- 8 min read
I'm a huge Tyler, The Creator fan. That has been pretty well documented throughout the course of my blog. Recently, I haven’t been listening to his music very much. I needed something new. I’m not saying Tyler and I connect on radio waves (we totally do), but he gave me exactly what I needed. I’m hosting a listening party for his new album, Chromakopia, tonight with another RA. I’m very excited. It starts after my class, and I haven’t spoiled the album at all yet. I’ve only heard a few clips of what came out early. Fifi is so much fun to be around. I don’t get to see Fifi very often, so I’m glad I get to host a program with her. I decided that I want this post to be a song-by-song review as I hear them in real-time. That means this will be posted pretty late, but I want to look back at my initial thoughts in a few months when everything has settled in a little bit. Real ones remember ranking every song on Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers at lakefront park the night it came out. I want to use a similar ranking system for this album. I’ll be ranking each song out of ten and then adding all the numbers up to find it’s score out of 100. It is totally how I feel about the song in the moment and my initial thoughts. It is subjective and the ratings will probably change over time. I’ll have a few categories too. I’m no amateur, so I won’t be using solid numbers. Give me decimal rankings! Obviously, this paragraph was written before the listening party and my class. Without further ado, here are my first-listen rankings of each song on this fourteen-track journey!
The Categories:
Enjoyability: This is pretty simple, but did I like the song? Was it easy to listen to? This category is based totally on how I felt during the playing of the song. Was I miserable? Was I happy?
Re-listen Worth: Was it too long? Was it painful to listen to? This category is a ranking of how likely I am going to go back to this song. It is closely related to the enjoyability category, but this is more about if the song was played over and over again. Is it going on the playlist or is it going to be forgotten. A 10 will be something that will become a song on repeat. A 0 will be something that I could barely get through the first time.
Uniqueness: Have I heard something like this before? Tyler is usually pretty unique with his sound, but I find it very important to be different. A ten would be rewarding the song for its ability to be differentiated from other types of music. A 0 would be a very basic sound.
Story Telling: I love when songs tell a story. Tyler has always been fantastic about telling stories and now I have high expectations. This category takes lyrics into play and rewards a song for a smooth flowing story.
Feet In The Air Score: Simon doesn’t need an explanation for this one. I don’t want to explain the whole meaning behind this category, but it is basically an atmospheric score. Does it make you want to lay on the floor, in the dark and put your feet up in the air? An example of a perfect song for this would be Violent Crimes (Kanye West) and White Ferrari (Frank Ocean)
Total Score: You are dumb if I have to explain to you how a total score works. This is just everything added together and then divided. This total score will be a part of the ultimate score of the album.
Chromakopia (By: Tyler, The Creator)
Song #1: St. Chroma:
Initial Thoughts:
This song was already used as a teaser for the album when the rollout started. I really love choir noises, so I knew a longer version of this song would be of interest to me. Very good, very enjoyable.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 9.2
Re-listen Worth: 8.9
Uniqueness: 8.3
Story Telling: 6.3
Feet In The Air Score: 9.2
Total Score: 8.38
Song #2: Rah Tah Tah
Initial Thoughts:
This song kinda has a Lemonhead kind of sound to it. It is a strong second song to the album. I guess it isn't something I’d listen to all the time, but it is a walk to class kind of hype up song.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 8.1
Re-listen Worth: 7.5
Uniqueness: 6.7
Story Telling: 6.5
Feet In The Air Score: 4.5
Total Score: 6.66
Song #3: Noid
Initial Thoughts:
This song was the first song to be fully released. I really can’t make a full opinion yet. There are some parts I really enjoy, but some parts I really don’t. I don’t love the message either. I think this song will have to sit with me a bit.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 6.5
Re-listen Worth: 3.7
Uniqueness: 8.8
Story Telling: 9.2
Feet In The Air Score: 2.4
Total Score: 6.12
Song #4: Darling, I
Initial Thoughts:
This is a really strong song. I like when Tyler has his mom talk on his songs and this features interesting advice. It adds to the story telling. This song makes me a little sad because he says monogamy isn’t for him. He keeps falling in love and doesn’t want to get married. He does a little talking here too. Mmmh!
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 8.4
Re-listen Worth: 7.5
Uniqueness: 8.8
Story Telling: 9.3
Feet In The Air Score: 5.3
Total Score: 7.86
Song #5: Hey Jane
Initial Thoughts:
Very interesting story being told here. I’m not sure what Tyler was on when he did his lyrics for this album. I like how he swapped points of view in the middle of the song. It added a great story telling aspect, as well as a unique quality. This is a very Tyler song. Weird, but oddly good.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 7.9
Re-listen Worth: 7.3
Uniqueness: 9.25
Story Telling: 9.4
Feet In The Air Score: 5.5
Total Score: 7.87
Song #6: I Killed You
Initial Thoughts:
This feels like new Tyler met old Tyler. It’s back to being so weird. It isn’t the luxury feel we had from Call Me If You Get Lost. I like the beat behind this song because of the oddities. I can imagine him in the studio hitting the weirdest shit and running with it.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 6.7
Re-listen Worth: 5.4
Uniqueness: 8.5
Story Telling: 6.5
Feet In The Air Score: 3.2
Total Score: 6.06
Song #7: Judge Judy
Initial Thoughts:
I love the intro to this song. It sounds like it was written from a kids perspective for the start bit of the song, but then it gets Tyler weird again. Definitely or hopefully not a kid. Giving oral is his passion? With Judge Judy? What the fuck Tyler! This is Goblin and CMIYGL mixed. Why are there moaning sounds?
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 6.4
Re-listen Worth: 3.67
Uniqueness: 9.12
Story Telling: 9.2
Feet In The Air Score: 3.7
Total Score: 6.418
Song #8: Sticky
Initial Thoughts:
The whistle at the beginning itches a spot in the back of my head. The way they all say sticky hits an itch too. I saw these features earlier and was disappointed in Tyler. To be honest, they weren’t terrible. Not my favorite, but it works. I like Wayne’s verse, just wish it was longer. It gets affected harshly by the lack of storytelling and inability to make me put my feet in the air.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 8.4
Re-listen Worth: 4.3
Uniqueness: 8.6
Story Telling: 2.4
Feet In The Air Score: 2.5
Total Score: 5.24
Song #9: Take Your Mask Off
Initial Thoughts:
Back to another slower song. I really enjoy this song, but I don’t know if its terribly different then the other slower songs on this album. I really love the “I hope you find yourself” part. I want to know if Tyler is talking to himself in this song or someone else.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 8.6
Re-listen Worth: 8.5
Uniqueness: 7.4
Story Telling: 8.6
Feet In The Air Score: 5.6
Total Score: 7.74
Song #10: Tomorrow
Initial Thoughts:
The intro was put on an ad of some sort. I like his mother talking again, but his talking freaks me a little bit. I think he might be in a weird spot mentally. When it starts to get more like a rap song, it gets way more enjoyable.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 7.8
Re-listen Worth: 6.7
Uniqueness: 8.7
Story Telling: 6.8
Feet In The Air Score: 4.3
Total Score: 6.86
Song #11: Thought I Was Dead
Initial Thoughts:
This came out early too, but I avoided listening to it. It has a very unique sound and is one of the more rappy songs. I found it enjoyable, but again not what I was looking for.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 8.5
Re-listen Worth: 7.8
Uniqueness: 8.5
Story Telling: 4.5
Feet In The Air Score: 4.5
Total Score: 6.76
Song #12: Like Him
Initial Thoughts:
I like the piano, it is different to what we are used to hearing. Strong storytelling and feels a little Igor like. I really liked the way it started to speed up and the women’s vocals towards the end.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 7.8
Re-listen Worth: 7.4
Uniqueness: 7.3
Story Telling: 8.7
Feet In The Air Score: 5.5
Total Score: 7.34
Song #13: Balloon
Initial Thoughts:
I like the first half of this song a lot. I thought the feature ruined it. It was enjoyable until the feature came in. I liked the beat behind him a lot. The “don’t stop” sprinkled throughout is unnecessary.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 7.3
Re-listen Worth: 4.3
Uniqueness: 6.8
Story Telling: 5.5
Feet In The Air Score: 3.3
Total Score: 5.44
Song #14: I Hope You Find Your Way Home
Initial Thoughts:
Very strong ending to the album. Very enjoyable. I liked the references he made to his Louis Vuitton collection. The voicemail of his mother telling him she is proud of him is beautiful.
Ratings:
Enjoyability: 8.1
Re-listen Worth: 5.5
Uniqueness: 6.6
Story Telling: 7.9
Feet In The Air Score: 6.7
Total Score: 6.96
Grand Total Score: 95.708/140 or 6.836
Final Thoughts: I think I would say this album was a disappointment. I think it had a few good songs, but it was indecisive on what it was. I think over time it will grow on me. It was too sexual for my liking. It was getting on the verge of me thinking Cardi B wrote some of the songs. It was a mix between CMIYGL, Igor and the oddities of Goblin. Again, these are just my first thoughts and I will definitely revisit this album. I was hoping it would drag me back into Tyler’s world and I’m not sure it did. I can’t wait to buy tickets to the shows and continue to love his artistic direction. The videos and rollout were all phenomenal, the songs just weren’t it for me. St. Chroma was my favorite song and maybe that will change. I really don’t have a definitive answer. I know I keep saying it, but I'm not giving up on this project. I think St. Chroma set expectations high and led me into the rest with a bit of a blinding light. I think my initial ranking might be a reflection of my disappointment. The scores don’t reflect how good the transitions were, so I’d add points for that. It was a mid album and got a mid score, so maybe I was right on? Let me know what your thoughts are! Happy Monday everybody!
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