From Wolf Haley to Tyler Baudelaire, The Creator has demonstrated his ability to morph his identity into various alter-egos, present in each of his albums. “CHROMAKOPIA” is no different.
The Creator quietly posted a snippet on Instagram captioned “1. st chroma.” Fans quickly took to social media to declare this as The Creator’s newest alter-ego. The post has since garnered over 2.6 million likes.
This 1-minute, 24-second music video shot on sepia-colored film displays a masked Creator leading others into a shipping container, then quickly transforming the video into color to reveal its forest green hue.
Many fans quickly took to social media, pointing out that the distinct forest green and black colors featured on “CHROMAKOPIA” promo are inverse to the colors featured on his Grammy-award-winning album, “Igor.” The Creator released “Igor” in 2019.
This clip also seemingly announced The Creator’s latest project, displaying a green and black “CHROMAKOPIA” logo at its conclusion. Many accurately predicted this to be the name of his then-anticipated release.
Fernando Juarez, an FAU sophomore, said that this album felt unique and that it characterized The Creator’s creative growth.
“It kind of feels like he developed from his older albums – like a combination of his older albums, such as ‘Igor‘ and ‘Call Me If You Get Lost.’”
“You are the light/It’s not on you, it’s in you,” said The Creator’s mother in the opening line of “CHROMAKOPIA.” Throughout his career, The Creator has expressed that his mother has been one of his biggest supporters and driving inspirations for his craft.
Critics and fans agree that “CHROMAKOPIA” is The Creator’s most vulnerable piece of music. It also allowed Tyler to put on a persona without altering his own character. This album reveals the intersection between growing older and reflecting on one’s upbringing.
At a concert hosted in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 29, The Creator told the crowd that this album is his most truthful to date.
“This is the first album where like everything I said is true… It’s no exaggeration… It’s so honest that I think I had to wear a mask of my own face to get that sh** out,” he said.
The Creator’s artistry has always been noted through his creation of various personas. However, St. Chroma does not seem to be a character the rapper plays, but rather a way to tell his most vulnerable stories yet.
The Creator has openly vocalized his estranged relationship with his father, which was most famously explained on the track “Answer,” from his second studio album “Wolf.”
The track “Like Him,” continues The Creator’s multi-album dissection of the role his father played throughout his life.
The Creator continued his exploration of complex instrumentations and experimentation. The album features a variety of collaborators, like singer-songwriter Lola Young, on “Like Him,” and rappers Sexyy Red and GloRilla on “Sticky.”
The University Press asked students around campus what their favorite tracks were. M students shared that “Like Him” was one of their top favorites.
FAU junior, Madeline Cruz, revealed that multiple songs made her top list.
“Like Him was probably my favorite on the album — Judge Judy and Hey Jane were my other two favorites as well,” she said.
R&B singer Daniel Caesar is also featured on seven of the album’s songs, contributing his vocals to “St. Chroma” and co-composing “Tomorrow.”
“CHROMAKOPIA” is currently at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It seems to be his most popular debuting album to date, right ahead of his 2021 album “Call Me If You Get Lost” and his 2019 chart-dominating “Igor.”
The album’s honesty is also seen through The Creator’s reflection on getting older. He revealed on the track “Tomorrow,” that as time passes, more and more of those around him are having children. The Creator shared he feels stuck in his youth.
“My brodie had another baby, that’s like number two/My homegirl, her knot tied, she like thirty-two/They sharin’ pictures of these moments, shit is really cute/And all I got is photos of my ‘Rari and some silly suits,” he said on the song.
At a listening event in Los Angeles prior to the release of the album, The Creator took a moment to express his thoughts on getting older, explaining “I’m gaining weight; I got a gray hair in my chest. Life is lifeing…”
Juarez expressed how the album has impacted him since its release.
“At first I thought [the album] was good, but I feel like it has been starting to grow on me a little bit more — I thought it got better the more that I listened to it,” he said.
Gabriela Quintero is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information on this story or others, contact her at [email protected]
