Isai Rocha
Tyler, the Creator was left speechless and breathless from the electric energy inside Crypto.com Arena during the fifth of six Los Angeles shows for the Chromakopia World Tour on Thursday, Feb. 20.
“I’m so tired. My body hurts,” Tyler told the crowd toward the end of the night. “In my head, I was like, ‘The later shows are going to be low energy.’ You definitely changed the f**k out of my mind.”
The arena seats were merely decorative for the sold-out show, as not a soul sat in them, with everyone standing, cheering and singing for the entirety of the 1-hour 45-minute set.
The mark of a great performer is being able to control the stage with gusto. Tyler, the Creator has found a way to go beyond that standard and control the whole arena.
Tyler marched on stage in an all-green outfit and eerie brown mask that have become part of his signature look since releasing his Chromakopia album in late 2024. He proceeded to run through the first tracks of the album in near perfect sequence, starting with the militaristic-sounding “St. Chroma” through the tenth song “Tomorrow.”
Tyler, The Creator performs at the Chromakopia World Tour in Los Angeles on Feb. 20, 2025 (Isai Rocha)
The neon-green stage towered over most of the audience, as the setup ensured he could be seen from the floor seats to the top deck. After the first act concluded, the Hawthorne-native showed that the main stage would not be his only platform, as a catwalk descended from the ceiling. Tyler danced his way onto it, performing his hit single “Sticky” above the crowd on the floor.
Tyler’s stage presence is second to none among active hip-hop artists, in the same conversation as fellow Angeleno Kendrick Lamar and the always controversial Travis Scott. The trio are known for their innovative stage setups, seemingly trying something new with each tour.
Making good use of a lengthy catwalk, Tyler performed “Take Your Mask Off” as he dramatically took off the mask he had worn for the previous 10 songs. That’s when a smaller secondary stage nestled within the floor section began to rise and connected to the catwalk he was on. The stage was draped with projector screens that depicted Tyler’s childhood home, and once he boarded the elevated stage, it slowly made its way to the floor. The screen facades then disappeared, revealing that the rapper was now inside a bedroom.
(Isai Rocha)
Tyler looked around the simulated room and walked toward a crate full of vinyl records. The arena camera zoomed in and showed him picking up a vinyl of his 2019 album Igor. He placed it on a record player, serving as the introduction to his second act, where he performed memorable songs from his eight-album catalog that spans nearly 16 years.
Packing in 19 fan-favorite tracks from past albums on the second stage (albeit several abbreviated versions), Tyler led with the hit single “Earfquake,” and went as far back as his Goblin era, performing “She,” a cult classic that featured Frank Ocean, and “Yonkers,” the first song of his that found mainstream success.
Pitting LA fans against each other, Tyler stopped rapping mid-sentence while performing “IFHY,” stared into the crowd to let them sing the verse on their own until they fizzled out. Since the start of the tour in early February, videos circulated of Tyler berating the crowds for losing steam while singing that song a cappella. In those videos, like a disappointed father, Tyler informed the crowd that their enthusiasm was not on par with the crowd from the first night’s show. It wasn’t until Thursday that Tyler was taken aback, literally barking into the microphone and exclaiming, “Now that one was the best one on the tour so far!”
Tyler has never been shy when it comes to crowd interactions, as viral videos can be found of him calling crowds “dumb” for their inefficient mosh pit strategies or staring out and saying, “This crowd f**king sucks,” to loud cheers from the self-deprecating audience.
Approaching the last stretch of the concert, Tyler went through the stage setup once again, walking across the catwalk and singing “WusYaName” as he made his way back to the main stage. The Grammy-winning artist used the full force of his pyrotechnics budget for his cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Hey Now” called “THAT GUY.”
Closing the night with “I Hope You Find Yourself,” the crowd cheered and sang up to the point when the lights turned on, and the realization hit them that the Chromakopia experience was over for the night.
(Isai Rocha)
Tyler’s desire to deliver a high-level concert was evident in his openers as well. Touring with up-and-coming rap duo Paris Texas and longtime collaborator Lil Yachty, Tyler showed respect to the show openers by not suppressing their performances. Sometimes opening acts are given secondary microphones that often sound muffled or have to be switched out throughout their sets, or the sound is played lower for them, or they’re not allowed to use specialized lighting. That was not the case Thursday night, as the production quality for both opening acts could have been mistaken for headliners.
Tyler closes out his Los Angeles run tonight, Friday, Feb. 21, and will then travel to Sacramento to continue the North American leg of the tour, before making his way to Europe in April.
While the crowd was key to the Thursday’s atmosphere, Tyler’s overall performance portrayed why he’s such a hot ticket, making the case that additional shows need to be added to the tour.
SETLIST
Tyler, the Creator
Chromakopia World Tour
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles CA
Thursday, February 20, 2025
St. Chroma
Rah Tah Tah
Noid
Darling, I
I Killed You
Judge Judy
Sticky
Take Your Mask Off
Tomorrow
Igor’s Theme
Earfquake
I Think
Yonkers
Tron Cat
She
Tamale
Rusty
IFHY
Lumberjack
I Thought You Wanted To Dance
Dog Tooth
Sorry Not Sorry
Deathcamp
2Seater
Smuckers
Boredom
Who Dat Boy
Wusyaname
Thought I Was Dead
Like Him
That Guy
See You Again
New Magic Wand
Balloon
I Hope You Find Your Way Home