Tyler season came in 2024 after all. This spring, before he headlined Coachella, Tyler, the Creator riled up fans by saying he wouldn’t drop new music this year. Maybe that was a fake out or maybe his plans changed, but it’s clear that the fall is going to bring us a musical harvest after all. Tyler started teasing his seventh album, Chromakopia, earlier in October, and it’s high-concept even by his standards. So far, Tyler has released the opening track “St. Chroma” and the single “Noid,” and introduced us to a masked protagonist in a grayscale world. Even the vinyl and tour promos are part of the world-building! Now that the album’s out, here’s what we’ve pieced together about Chromakopia so far — including who’s featured (and who may not be).
What does Chromakopia mean?
Is it a state of being? A place? A medical condition we should talk to our doctors about? As ever with Tyler, we can’t be sure. What is apparent is he’s using chroma as in chromatic — like colors. Some fans have noticed that “St. Chroma,” the name of the first song, could be a reference to Chroma the Great, a character from Norton Juster’s classic children’s book The Phantom Tollbooth. In Juster’s fantasy world, Chroma is an orchestra conductor whose music brings color to the world. And Tyler’s video for “St. Chroma” takes place in a monochromatic black-and-white world, until a bassy beat-drop brightens everything up in the final seconds, as Daniel Caesar sings, “Can you feel the light?” (Coincidentally — or, probably not — the word chromatic also refers to the chromatic scale, the 12 pitches that are the basis for most western music.) The color green also seems to be important, between the album’s promotional art and the vinyl teaser.
Okay, so who’s St. Chroma?
That would seem to be Tyler — or at least, a character played by Tyler. The “St. Chroma” video implies that our protagonist is the masked man in a military jacket directing everybody into the shipping container that he proceeds to blow up. So is he just evil, or is there more to the story? The video for “Noid” might be a clue. Back in black-and-white, we see St. Chroma, now in street clothes but still wearing a mask, being approached by crazed fans. Chroma drives to an isolated house, where he proceeds to lock about a million deadbolts on the door. He still doesn’t feel safe, though — but it might just be in his head, as we watch him see figures in a mirror but we don’t actually see those figures in the house. “Someone’s keeping watch / I feel them in my shadow,” Tyler/Chroma sings, between verses detailing his paranoia.
So is that what led Chroma to blow those people up in the shipping container, or is his paranoia the fallout? The “Noid” video doesn’t have an answer. At the end, we do see Chroma in full color again, but still masked, moving around what looks like an empty parking lot. What’s going on there? We’ll have to wait to see.
And who all is featured?
Some old friends and a lot of new ones. R&B singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar revealed himself to be the mystery vocalist on “St. Chroma” on his Instagram Story, hinting that he made more contributions to the album. Meanwhile, the credits to “Noid” include Thundercat, who Tyler has circled for a while, on bass, and Willow on backing vocals. The “Noid” video also stars Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri as one of those obsessed fans who taunts Chroma with a gun. Let’s get her side of the story, please!
With the album finally out, we’re still a bit in the dark about who’s featured. It sounds like Teezo Touchdown is on “Darling, I,” and Childish Gambino seems to be singing on “I Killed You” and “Judge Judy.” GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne all contributed verses to “Sticky,” and Doechii raps on “Balloon.” As for those Frank Ocean rumors? Some fans thought they heard him on “Judge Judy,” but there’s been no confirmation. Today is Ocean’s birthday — could he be giving us a gift?
One guest we’re sure of: Tyler’s mother, Bonita Smith, is the heart of the project, with clips of her talking on different tracks. “You are the light,” she says on “St. Chroma,” lighting up the album’s meaning. “It’s not on you, it’s in you. Don’t you ever in your motherfucking life dim your light for nobody.”
