Tyler, the Creator secures his first ever UK Number One album with his seventh studio album ‘Chromakopia’. The album released on October 28 and crowned the top spot last minute, as Mancunian indie rock band Courtneers released their newest album Pink Cactus Café on October 31 which held the top spot until Thursday 31, October.
Tyler Gregory Okonma, known professionally as Tyler, the Creator beat his UK chart record when Chromakopia climbed to the top spot. Chromakopia tops Tyler’s previous peak at Number 4, which was achieved with the release of Call Me If You Get Lost in 2021 and Igor in 2019.
The rapper and record producer known for experimentation in the field of alternative hip hop released Chromakopia to move away from passive listening and towards music listeners being able to actively listen and absorb its contents.
In an interview with Canadian journalist Nardwuar last year, Tyler spoke about the attitudes surrounding album release dates and his preference to weekday releases: “I think if you put it out during the week, man, that commute to work, or that commute to school… you really have that hour, 30 minutes to really dive in and really listen”. With this in mind, Tyler released Chromakopia on Monday 06:00 EST, three days after the Official Charts Company began counting streams and sales on 0:01 on Friday.
Tyler, The Creator scores his first-ever Official Number 1 album in the UK with #CHROMAKOPIA this week
Congrats, @tylerthecreator!
Read the full story: https://t.co/lrxvNwiqzU#TylerTheCreator pic.twitter.com/x1lC6GDQQ7
— Official Charts (@officialcharts) November 2, 2024
The crowning of Chromakopia at Number One was a close call, there was fewer than 800 chart units between Tyler and Courtneers, who took the second spot. The chart also saw Sabrina Carpenter’s continued chart dominance at Number 3 with Short N’ Sweet, Bastille with & at Number 4 and Charli xcx’s Brat at 5.
The album was announced on October 17, 11 days before its release on October 28. However, the hype was enough as Tyler also occupies the Number One spot on the US Billboard 200, his third number one album. This is a commendable achievement for the rapper given he has never achieved a top 10 single in the US charts.
Four days after the album’s announcement, the ‘See You Again’ performer released Chromakopia’s lead single, ‘Noid’. The track’s experimental production dives into themes of paranoia with its lyricism, providing insight into the experiences of individuals in the public eye. ‘Noid’ samples vocals from Paul Ngozi of Ngozi Family from their track, ‘Nizakupanga Ngzo’. Paul Ngozi sings in his native Nyanja language; these lyrical contributions propel Tyler’s creativity which are further showcased throughout Chromakopia. The monochrome music video features American Actress Ayo Edebiri, who plays the role of a startled fan which in Tyler’s paranoia mistakes her recording phone for a gun.
Chromakopia features ‘St. Chroma’ and ‘Thought I Was Dead’, both of which were used as promotional samples for the newly released album.
Tyler, the Creator achieved his first UK Number 1 album with Chromakopia proving his discography, which spans over a decade, proves to be continually engaging and powerful to UK audiences.
