Following the release of his eighth studio album, Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator started the CHROMAKOPIA: WORLD TOUR, and has now finished the tour’s first leg. The first leg’s final show was at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., which I had the pleasure of attending.
Tyler was accompanied by two openers: Paris Texas and Lil Yachty. Paris Texas (a rap duo from Los Angeles, California) was the first to perform. Their set was quick, yet energetic and fun; they kept the crowd loud and moving the entire set. This energy carried into the rest of the night. One notable song Paris Texas played was “FORCE OF HABIT”.
Lil Yachty came on about a half hour after Paris Texas did, and not only did he keep the energy that Paris Texas built, but he expanded on it. Yachty started by playing classics like “Coffin,” “Broccoli” and “Yacht Club.”
After “Yacht Club,” he gave a small speech about Juice Wrld, a rapper Yachty had worked with many times before Juice’s untimely death in 2019. After the speech, Yachty asked the audience for a moment of silence, which was quickly interrupted by someone in the crowd. Yachty responded to this by telling the arena “boo” the man.
Lil Yachty ended his set by playing some of his newer songs like “drive ME crazy!,” “Gimme Da Light” and “Cold Sunday.” Lil Yachty’s performance was incredible, my favorite performance being his and Tee Grizzley’s “From D To The A.”
The stage-up for this concert was unique. The main stage was a CHROMAKOPIA shipping container that opened up and revealed Tyler dressed as his alter ego, St. Chroma. Tyler opened with “St. Chroma.” This pulled everyone into the performance and prepared them for the rest of the night.
Tyler continued to play tracks off Chromakopia, including “Rah Tah Tah,” “Noid,” “Darling, I” and “Judge Judy.” After these songs played, a bridge descended from the rafters, giving Tyler access to B stage. Tyler performed “Sticky” on the bridge, where he danced and even threw one dollar bills into the crowd below him.
“Take Your Mask Off” marked a transition in the performance. At the song’s end, Tyler did exactly what the song said and took his St. Chroma mask off; he then walked onto B stage and took a Chromakopia record off the turntable before disappearing to change outfits.
Tyler emerged backstage to “Igor’s Theme” and continued the set with more IGOR, playing “GONE GONE/THANK YOU,” teasing “A BOY IS A GUN*,” and finishing with “EARFQUAKE.” IGOR is my favorite Tyler album, so I enjoyed this section the most.
Tyler took the IGOR vinyl off the record off the player and replaced it with Goblin. He told the crowd to “sing this shit” and played the “Yonkers” instrumental. He followed this up by playing “She,” which was awesome as everyone in the arena sang the chorus.
Next up was WOLF. Tyler rapped his verse on “Rusty,” which is one of my favorites off of Wolf. Then he followed up with “IFHY” and “Tamale.” Unfortunately, Tyler didn’t play any songs off Cherry Bomb, which I was disappointed about; although he tweeted earlier this year that he wouldn’t.
Next up was CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, starting with “LUMBERJACK,” transitioning to “I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE,” and finishing with “WUSYANAME,” which had an extended intro.
Tyler finished the set by walking the bridge back to the main stage and performing more songs off Chromakopia, most notably “Balloon,” one of my favorite tracks off the album. The performance included strobe lights, fireworks and a video of Doechii rapping on the electronic screens.
However, I think the best song performed was “NEW MAGIC WAND” just before “Balloon.” Tyler did the signature red lights as well as heaving breathing before the scream in the beginning of the song. Hearing the song live was an incredibly different experience than through streaming services. Overall, this concert is one of the best live performances I’ve been lucky to attend. My expectations were very high coming into the show, and it surpassed them in every way possible.
