Tyler The Creator is not only one of the most innovative performers in music today — he’s one of the most prolific. Every so often, the Hawthorne native will share a throwaway from the cutting room floor after releasing a new album; today, on the one-year anniversary of Chromakopia, he’s shared “Mother,” an would-be album cut in which he contemplates the advice given to him by his maternal figure and argues, somewhat ironically, “Look at me, I turned out fine.”
Tyler commemorated the release with a heartfelt post on Instagram, breaking his usual tradition of sharing bonus tracks on Twitter (there’s a story there, but it ain’t really worth telling). In the post, Tyler writes:
CHROMAKOPIA. home. the place where light comes from.
During 2020 i spent alot of time riding my bike through my old neighborhoods. Inglewood, Hawthorne, South Bay. so many memories and feelings rushed back, so many sound bites from my mother replayed, so many questions arised. what is home? is it a feeling i carry or a place? convos with my mother i found out things that was opposite of what i’ve built a narrative around.
MOTHER was the first song i made for this project that year, still not sure why i took it off last minute. its pretty much the grounding piece of the album
( chromakopia + featuring mother out now. i didnt want to release the song out of context)i wanted this album to be hand/ mouth/ drum percussion heavy. i wanted kelly green to be everywhere. i wanted the videos to feel uncanny. i wanted to wear a mask of myself.
i approached it more like a diary. things ive touched on before, things i havent. the pressure of monogamy, the fear of fatherhood, how i felt about my hair, the judging of sexual freedom, my paranoia, etc. nothing too “deep” or crazy, just thoughts that stay on loop.
…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 movies roles. see what a life is like without work being top of mind. its hard tho, i love making things.
i laugh to myself alot because this album ended up taking me places the others didnt. 15 years in; biggest its ever been. im in awe of the success. and what a beautiful tour!love to the whole team! lil yachty, paris texas thank yall for coming along. thank you to everyone who came to see it( Cincinnati was my favorite show). its 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. T
i wrote more but i could only fit so much
You can listen to “Mother” up top.
