Tyler, the Creator speaks to the times with “NOID,” the latest single from his upcoming album. Chromocopy. The song is part of Tyler’s straight-to-the-point album rollout, which focused on the music and visuals – not his trademark bluntness.

Last week Tyler released “St. Chroma,” in which he whispered about militaristic stomping. A week later, he dropped “NOID” and admitted he was “paranoid” that his fame had made him a target. “I can’t even buy a private house. A break-in at my apartment caused my brothers to die,” he complains about the ever-present threat of break-ins by celebrities.

The black and white video is intended to convey Tyler’s dismay. He flails around in a dark void, chased by fans looking for autographs, and a frantic, armed Ayo Ebidiri runs toward him. The self-made video offers almost three minutes of images that fans can decipher frame by frame. And probably before their analysis is complete – or before he reveals all at his upcoming album listening event – Chromocopy will be here.

The short route to his new album becomes Tyler’s trademark. The official X account of the Dissect Podcast pointed out 2019 IGOR dropped 10 days after its launch began and in 2021 Call me if you get lost Discontinued 11 days after initial announcement. Chromocopy should be 12 days after “St. Chroma.” It’s surprising that the quiet abandonment of music feels like a unique rollout, but the music industry has made publicity stunts seem like a prerequisite for new releases: In 2024 alone, we’ve seen more pre-releases than farms in the Midwest . Still, Tyler reminds us that if your fan base just wants the music, there’s no need for cheap advertising.

He openly said that he doesn’t think we need to know anything else anyway. In August, he complained to Maverick Carter: “The internet is crazy, these kids hack everything… they want to know who your sister is, what you had for dinner… mind your damn business.” Get the fuck out and listen to the damn art or the music. Because of the internet, people no longer have personal boundaries and it’s normalized… (but) it’s like we don’t know each other.” And here comes an album with a lead single with a sample of the Ngozi family, which apparently Translated it says: “If you come to my house, please be respectful. Because I don’t like to talk that much. Too much talking leads to gossip.” At least he’s consistent.

Although there are many theories, some fans believe in it Chromocopy The album cover is a visual allusion to that of David Bowie “Heroes” Album. Before the term “album era” came into being, Bowie was revered for adopting a different persona for each album. Tyler has done the same and presents his creative choices in layers for Chromocopy. In 1977, Bowie told NME that the title, in quotes on his album cover, serves to “suggest a dimension of irony about the word ‘hero’ or about the whole concept of heroism” – an idea that Tyler could take as a commentary on celebrity worship. Bowie’s cover is a reference to the painting by artist Erich Heckel Roquairol, which British outlet Why now? described as “a disturbing portrait of the artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner in a state of nervous breakdown.” Again, RoquairolThe tension mentioned by Bowie also works on “NOID,” with Tyler expressing, “The nervous system is shattered, long before 19.”

Bowie’s biographer interprets this “Heroes” The cover shows the singer “raising a flat hand as if he had just removed the last mask of artificiality from his face in imitation.” But instead of a mask, Tyler is wearing a brown leather mask. His veil could easily be interpreted as a nod to the charade of modern celebrity. The mask looks likee Tyler, but it is a slight variation invented to hide his true identity. The song title “NOID” also suggests that to the world he is not the Tyler Okonma that his family knows. He is every character you imagine him to be. As he told Carter, we don’t know him.

“NOID” isn’t the first time a rapper has spoken out against celebrity overexposure; you can look at Cardi B’s Violation of privacy or Eminem’s “The Way I Am,” for example. But the arrival of “NOID” comes with an influx of fans who are beginning to agree with him that the modern construct of celebrity is unhealthy. Whether fans are pondering the power networks that enabled Diddy’s monstrous accusations or rolling their eyes at Trump-supporting stars, we’re starting to agree with Kanye West, one of Tyler’s idols, that ” no single man should have all this power.” Tyler from the Celebrity Bubble agrees, following up his previous comments about overzealous fans with a single that explores the importance of artists being treated like “heroes.”