On the announcement flier for Tyler, the Creator’s upcoming eigth album, Chromakopia, there’s a familiar statement: “All songs written, produced and arranged by Tyler Okonma.” It has graced the album covers or digital tracklist sleeves of several of his albums, including his fifth album, Flower Boy, and the Grammy-winning IGOR.
Beyond expressly claiming authorship and proclaiming himself as a polymath, Tyler's public use of his surname in recent years seems tied to a growing readiness to embrace his African roots. His father is a Nigerian of Igbo descent. Back in 2016, he proudly (and hilariously) yelled, “I’m Nigerian, n—,” after beating Kanye West in a foot race and he's continued to find ways to show that African side of his identity.
Today, a week from the release of Chromakopia, Tyler has released the album single “NOID," a piercing take on the paranoia that accompanies being a well-known celebrity. Conspicuously, the song heavily samples “Nizaka Panga Ngozi” by the iconic Ngozi Family, a revered band from the seminal Zamrock (Zambian rock) scene of the 1970s.
In addition to basing the music for “NOID” on the grungy intro of “Nizaka Panga Ngozi,” the hook for Tyler’s new single also samples the bellowing chant by the Ngozi Family lead singer, Paul Ngozi, sang in Chewa, a language spoken across Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi.
The sepia-toned video for “NOID” features a defining cameo by Ayo Edebiri, the American actress and comedian whose father is Nigerian.
Musically, the sampling of an older African song is not a novel approach for the rap artist. “I THINK,” a standout off his sixth album, IGOR, takes its hook and melodic samples from Bibi Mascel’s all-time boogie banger, “Special Lady,” and its drum loop is culled from Nkono Teles’ “Get Down.” Mascel was a Nigerian singer with fringe hits in the 1980s, while Teles, a Cameroonian Nigerian superproducer, is credited with crafting the defining Nigeria’s pop sounds in that same era.
It will be interesting to see how Chromakopia furthers Tyler’s embrace of his African heritage. Earlier this year, Tyler took some umbrage at not being included in OkayAfrica’s roundup of notable African highlights at Coachella. “my last name is OKONMA i was there lol,” he commented (see below).
Perhaps, this is the album that could imprint it on everyone that Tyler really values being Nigerian and African.
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