Tyler, The Creator has revealed that he originally planned for ‘CHROMAKOPIA’ to be his “last album for a very long time”.
The California artist released the record – his eighth full-length project – this time last year, before following it up with ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ this summer. Both LPs topped the Billboard 200 chart in the US.
Writing on social media yesterday (Tuesday October 28), Tyler directed his followers to the song ‘Mother’ from the new deluxe edition of his 2024 LP, ‘CHROMAKOPIA+’, which arrived on the first anniversary of ‘CHROMAKOPIA’.
He explained that the track dates back to 2020, and was “the first song [he] made” for the original version of ‘CHROMAKOPIA’. “[I’m] still not sure why I took it off last minute,” Tyler added. “It’s pretty much the grounding piece of the album.”
The rapper and singer said he was sharing ‘Mother’ now as part of ‘CHROMAKOPIA+’ because he “didn’t want to release the song out of context”.
Speaking further about ‘CHROMAKOPIA’, Tyler explained: “I was planning on this being my last album for a VERY long time. Release it. Do the big tour. Go disappear and only pop out for movie roles. See what a life is like without work being top of mind. It’s hard tho, I love making things.
“I laugh to myself a lot because this album ended up taking me places the others didn’t. 15 years in; biggest it’s ever been. I’m in awe of the success. And what a beautiful tour! Love to the whole team!”
He continued: “It’s been a year since release, time is moving. To those who love this body of work, tell me about it. I hope it holds weight in your life. Thank you. What an incredible year.”
‘CHROMAKOPIA’ earned a three-star review from NME. “Tyler, The Creator, is building a landscape of chaos that reflects his own psychological conflict. And in that sense, ‘Chromakopia’ succeeds on its own terms,” it read.
“Within the chaos, there’s beauty — the sensitivity of ‘Hey Jane’, the infectious hip-hop bite of ‘Thought I Was Dead’, the rising cacophonies of brass and percussion on ‘I Killed You’. But perhaps a less frantic approach would’ve benefited the listen overall.”
NME then gave ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ four stars, writing: “Shedding the cinematic sprawl and narrative pathos of last year’s ‘Chromakopia’, Tyler steps away from the character-driven framing of Wolf Haley or Sir Baudelaire. The paranoia and parasocial tension explored on that record still linger – but beneath cartoonish ’80s rap armour.
“It’s part Kurtis Blow and part LL Cool J, encased in a clear Perspex chamber like a collector’s action figure. Instead of inviting connection, Tyler shields himself behind the glass: a museum piece for dance and display only.”
The latter marks Tyler’s ninth studio album, and was announced as a surprise during one of his shows in New York this summer on the ‘Chromakopia’ tour. He’d previously hosted a three-night residency at The O2 in London as part of the trek, marking his first performances in the capital in six years.
Tyler is set to return to London next year with a two-day takeover of All Points East 2026. He’ll headline both nights, with support coming from the likes of Rex Orange County, Turnstile, Daniel Caesar and Baby Keem.
Meanwhile, Tyler will make his feature-length debut in Josh Safdie’s upcoming A24 film, Marty Supreme, alongside Timothée Chalamet. Check out the first critic reactions here.
