Earlier this month, Tyler, The Creator announced his latest self-produced studio album CHROMACOPY and introduced the world to his newest character, Chroma. Reportedly inspired by the story of Chroma The Great from the novel The Phantom Toll Booththe images for the project – all of which were shot in-house – are saturated with a vintage sepia filter.

The Odd Future co-founder, who is notoriously against Friday releases, dropped his album this morning (October 28) after a listening party in Los Angeles last night. On his Instagram story to announce the launch, he wrote: “Make sure you listen fully, without expectations, without distractions, without checking texts or social media (and) let others paint your thoughts about shit, before you get a chance.” With contributions from Childish Gambino, Lil Wayne, Sexyy Red, Doechii, GloRilla, Teezo Touchdown, Daniel Caesar and Schoolboy Q, the album is already considered one of his boldest projects to date.

Whether you were present online when Odd Future was first formed or were recently introduced to its weird and wonderful world, chances are good that at some point you have encountered one of the many personalities that Tyler has portrayed over the course of embodied in his music career. In honor of the release of his seventh studio album, we’ve revisited all of his previous work and ranked his best albums. Here is our final verdict.

Few albums evoke such fond memories of my early encounters with the Internet leprechaun. The album made a big impression upon its release – largely due to its horrorcore lyrics and viral videos – but behind these provocations lie glimpses of the creative vision that Tyler would continue to refine throughout his career. Looking back at his later releases, it’s crazy to think that this was all we knew about Tyler at one point, but he deserves forever credit for upsetting Teresa May enough to force him out of the world for five years country was banished. (SPM)

listen back, Cherry bomb It almost feels like all of Tyler’s other releases rolled into one: there are elements of Igors melancholic melodies in “Fucking Young / Perfect”, a bit leprechaun And WOLF‘s West Coast rap steez on “RUN” and “THE BROWN STAINS OF DARKEESE LATIFAH PART 6-12” and a bit of that Flower boy on the closing title “OKAGA, CA”; but for this very reason the project lacks impact. All of Tyler’s albums – even leprechaun – feel deeply connected and Cherry bomb seems confused in comparison. Lil Wayne creates a “trample on the backrest/trampoline“Puns will always be brilliant for me, though.” (SPM)

He produced his most successful single to date, “See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis)”. Flower boy began the metamorphosis away from the edgelord Tyler to the (mostly) softer and more mature character we know today. Featuring more intimate lyrics and guest appearances from Steve Lacy and Rex Orange Country, the project marked a significant departure from Tyler’s previous releases. It felt like our first chance to really get to know him. (SPM)

Published in 2021, Call me if you get lost was Tyler’s second number one album and won a Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2022. Hosted by DJ Drama, Tyler takes on the personality of “Tyler Baudelaire” and is accompanied by Swiss mountains in the background. It’s a perfect mix of each of Tyler’s eras and to this day feels like a multiverse of all of his previous projects, coupled with thoughtful and sometimes nostalgic production. On the almost nine-minute song “WILSHIRE” he talks about the failure of a relationship. If you listen closely, you can hear the emotional cracks in his voice as he records with a device he later described as a “shitty handheld microphone.”

He fell last March THE REAL ESTATE SALE with eight more songs that didn’t make it onto the record the first time around. The second release contained songs like “DOGTOOTH”, “STUNTMAN” with Vince Staples and “SORRY NOT SORRY”, the latter of which is, in my opinion, one of his best songs ever. (HD)

In retrospect, WOLF was one of those albums that proved Tyler was always ahead. It follows two years later Leprechaun, The project was just as conceptual, but sounded completely different. The confessional and introspective album featured Frank Ocean, Erykah Badu, Earl Sweatshirt, Pharrell and more. In “Answer,” he struggles with his desire to connect with his estranged father and his anger toward him. Honestly, there are too many standouts on this album to list, but “IFHY,” an acronym for “I Fucking Hate You,” featuring Pharrell, embodies the feeling of WOLF. His anger meets his darkest but gentlest emotions and as a result, more than a decade later, produces what many consider to be one of his best raps, and listening to it again after all this time, I have to agree. (HD)

When Tyler released lead single “Earfquake,” that was clear Igor wanted to do something special. Turn the experimentation around Flower boy up to 100 and with rhythms funky enough to make even Teresa May tap her toes, this album was light years away from that leprechaun started first. Produced exclusively in-house (like Chromacopy is) and mixes elements of funk, pop and RnB, it definitely deserved its Grammy win in 2020 – just not for best rap album. (SPM)

It may only be a few hours old, but we’ll call it now: CHROMACOPY is Tyler’s strongest album. After following Tyler’s instructions, listening without opinions or distractions, I can say with full transparency that I was not expecting such a spiritual experience. Rich in profound reflections on relationships, fame, heritage and family, it ranges from discussions of sexuality and religious guilt in “Take Your Mask Off” to unplanned pregnancies in “Hey Jane” to dealing with polygamy in “Darling, I.” “. Elsewhere, songs like “Thought I Was Dead” and “Sticky” give us a taste of his best and most confident rapping.

On “Rah Tah Tah” he says he is “The biggest in town after Kenny, that’s a fact.” And while it still feels like two full listens aren’t enough to fully grasp the genius of this album, I couldn’t agree more with that statement. Welcome to Chromakpia. I have a feeling we’ll be reflecting on his best era yet in a year (that is, of course, until he disappears for a few years and comes back with something somehow even better, in the real Tyler, the Creator). Style). (HD)