Chromakopia Tour Review: Philadelphia
Photo by @_bcvisuals on Instagram
I’ve been a fan of Tyler, the Creator ever since I intentionally started diving into music over quarantine. I wanted more hip hop in my listening, and Igor, despite not really being a rap record, quickly became one of my favorite albums. It was one of the first albums I ended up owning on vinyl, so suffice it to say, Tyler’s music means a lot to me.
Imagine my reaction when he announced the Chromakopia Tour in October, and after holding a few jobs over the years, I finally had enough adult money to pull the trigger.
Tyler is known for his meticulous curation of the artists he works with. Thankfully, the openers he selected did even more than what was likely expected of them.
The show began with the LA-based duo Paris Texas, made up of Louie Pastel and Felix. They were joined by DJ Ankle Sandwich, who brought an inexorable energy to the Wells Fargo Center.
Paris Texas’s sound is difficult to pin down in words. Between their hip-hop and trap origins and punk rock additions, with blaring guitars littering their beats, Paris Texas has brought some truly unique music to the masses through this tour.
Nowhere is this blend more evident than on “HEAVY METAL,” which uses kit drums along with booming power chords to give a titular feel to the song. They also showcase their raw rapping on tracks like “NüWhip,” which has some bars that are just straight-up hilarious while using a disgustingly catchy flow.
After Paris Texas thanked the growing crowd, Lil Yachty stepped up as the second opener for the tour. The Atlanta artist has been a staple in the rap game for years, with his biggest breakout coming almost a decade ago on KYLE’s song, “iSpy.”
Yachty released his first mixtape, Lil Boat, on streaming platforms five months before that megahit, and new fans fell in love with songs that are now staples in his catalog like “One Night” and “Minnesota.”
He played all three of these songs in his set, along with more of his rap hits. Among my personal favorites were “From the D to the A,” “Strike (Holster),” and the finale, “One Cold Sunday.”
In 2023, though, Lil Yachty released an experimental psychedelic rock album titled Let’s Start Here. I saw him on the tour for that album in 2024 and was excited to see some of my favorite songs in a live setting again.
“drive ME crazy” almost instantly rose to the top of my listening stats when it came out, and it was still my favorite song he performed at Chromakopia. He also performed “pRETTy” and “WE SAW THE SUN!,” which have helped push me to go back to Let’s Start Here. in the aftermath.
Finally, Tyler began to take the stage during the opening track of Chromakopia, “St. Chroma.” The fast verses and Daniel Caesar’s angelic vocals filled the arena, and I knew I was in for a treat. Tyler’s first nine tracks of the show all came off his newest album, and while I can’t ramble about them all, just the highlights were otherworldly.
“Darling, I” was my favorite song off Chromakopia, and hearing it live did not disappoint. I consider myself a bit of a fan of the divisive Teezo Touchdown, and this song would not be the same without his distinct vocals. Screaming the chorus with over 20,000 people is something I won’t soon forget.
Speaking of that 20,000-person crowd, they all love Tyler. That seems like a prerequisite of attending any concert, but this was easily the most boisterous crowd I’ve ever been a part of.
“Sticky” can only be described as an out-of-body experience. The orange lighting, pyrotechnics, and the crowd hitting its noisiest peak during this song made perfect sense.
I could only compare this to attending an evangelical megachurch on Christmas. The energy and unity were palpable. Tyler’s dancing on the catwalk and seeing the entire pit mosh to this song will be one of my most cherished memories of live music.
After the first bout of Chromakopia songs, Tyler switched to the hits. He teased certain songs by flipping through a bin of vinyl records, occasionally picking out one of his own albums to throw on the turntable across the B-stage. He started with “IGOR’S THEME” and the inevitable “EARFQUAKE,” but he played a special song starting in Philadelphia.
“ARE WE STILL FRIENDS” is my personal favorite song from Tyler, and to even hear 30 seconds of it live was insanity. The fact that he hadn’t performed that song since his tour for Igor just made the night all the more special.
Next, he played a pair of songs off Goblin, “Yonkers” and “She.” I definitely prefer the latter, both as a performance and a song in general. The way Tyler transitioned the song by cutting the track and slowly singing Frank Ocean’s verse was a really fun moment.
After Goblin, he pivoted to Wolf, where my favorite song was definitely “IFHY.” On this song, he also cut the track for the outro, then called out the crowd for being quitters once everyone trailed off. Boos rained down from the rafters as Philly showed him how they felt about getting dissed like that.
Regardless of the squabble, Tyler picked right back up and went to a few songs from CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST and the deluxe edition, The Estate Sale.
In my opinion, “SORRY NOT SORRY” was the standout of this section. I wasn’t expecting such an introspective track to be played, but I clearly should’ve expected more from Tyler. He gave his all to the screaming ending of the song, which made for one of the best moments of the night.
Tyler made sure to do a few more fan-favorite songs at the very end of the setlist, too. “Thought I Was Dead,” “NEW MAGIC WAND,” and “See You Again” were all incredible, but “Like Him” took the cake as my favorite Chromakopia song of the night.
The beat drop totally made the performance. Between the crowd simultaneously screaming Tyler’s voice and Lola Young’s backing vocals, the sparks flying down from the top of the stage, and Tyler’s actual vocal performance, the goosebumps were practically leaping out of my skin.
All in all, the Chromakopia tour is up there with my favorite live music performances I’ve ever been to. The openers were perfect. The stage was perfect. The music was perfect. Tyler delivered a performance that won’t just be unforgettable for me, but immortal in the eyes of music fans.
