Tyler, The Creator on "Sticky" Marching Band Performance: 'Beautiful'

The addictive 'Chromakopia' song was written with marching bands in mind, per Tyler.

November 18, 2024

Tyler in a green suit jumps energetically while holding a microphone against a clear sky background.

Image via Getty/John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe

The inevitable marching band version of Tyler, The Creator’s addictively excellent Chromakopia cut “Sticky” has arrived.

Over the weekend, footage made the rounds on social media showing Jackson State University’s marching band Sonic Boom of the South performing an arrangement of the song, the original version of which very much pulls from the inherent liveliness found only in a truly great marching band. Here, the dramatic horn accents and exponentially thunderous drums at the core of the song’s construction are maximized to great effect, complete with an endorsement from the man himself.

The regularly praised band, part of a larger JSU music program that also features a wind ensemble and a symphonic group, is currently raising money for students to take part in next January’s 136th edition of the Rose Parade in Pasadena. As of this writing, over $237,000 has been raised for the Sonic Boom of the South and the Prancing J-Settes.

Tyler was quick to join in on the praise for the band’s take on “Sticky,” pointing out to fans that he had arranged the song with this exact scenario in mind.

“This is why I made ‘Sticky,’” he said in a tweet. “This is why I arranged it that way. This beautiful. My heart is filled.”

“Sticky” sees Tyler bringing in GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne to mark the halfway point of the Chromakopia experience. The track stands alone, handily I might add, as sounding unlike any other song released this year and is thus truly in a league all its own. But it’s also a highlight among an album full of highlights, as not a single moment of Chromakopia is wasted, a key part of the rewarding experience of multiple front-to-back listens.

Another fascinating element of the album's success, of course, is the shrewd move of eschewing the long-held standard of dropping it on a Friday. The move away from expected end-of-the-week unveilings was first suggested by Tyler in a 2023 Nardwuar interview, ultimately coming to life just under a year later.