The release of Tyler, The Creator’s latest album, Chromakopia, has set a wildfire of opinions ablaze across N. C. A&T’s campus, sparking everything from impassioned love to skepticism.
Tyler’s new sound, a colorful explosion of layered beats, introspective lyrics, and experimental production, challenges listeners to confront their emotional landscapes.
On social media and in casual conversation, students’ reviews of Chromakopia vary wildly.
Many are thrilled with Tyler’s unexpected twists and turns, calling it a “brave step forward,” while others find themselves caught off-guard by the drastic departure from his previous work.
Malcolm King, junior computer graphics student, happens to be a long-time fan of Tyler the Creator.
“In my opinion I did enjoy the album and the production on it but it sounded like a combination of his last two projects in one,” King said, “As of now it hadn’t been in my rotation a lot, but maybe I will be going back to it to listen down the line, but it was a good sounding album for real– I just wish it was more exciting.”
But for others, the album’s avant-garde approach has missed the mark. Monai Mendez, a barista at Union Coffee Company located downtown Greensboro had a few thoughts about the new album.
“I love the music videos and they were so cool and creative, the whole album itself was not my favorite though,” Mendez said. “My husband really likes him, but I am not an avid listener of Tyler the Creator myself.”
Niko Brown, a sophomore multimedia journalism student, is not too familiar with the recent drop due to him not listening to the album just yet, but he was still aware of the hype around the album.
“Overall the hype and hysteria around the album is pretty cool. I just wish the truck stopped in Greensboro as it did the other major cities. The aura around the album itself is something you see only every few years with big artists like Kendrick so the fan base for sure helped the album do numbers,” Brown said.
In the end, Chromakopia might be the album A&T students didn’t know they needed—a reminder to grow, change, and dive into the unknown. Love it or hate it, Tyler’s latest creation has definitely gotten Aggies talking, proving that sometimes the art that challenges us is the one that sticks.
