# Like Him
**"Like Him"** is a song by the American rapper and producer Tyler, The Creator, featuring the English singer-songwriter [Lola Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/lola-young), released on October 28, 2024 as the twelfth track on his album *CHROMAKOPIA* through [Columbia Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-records).[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chromakopia/1776500452) • [2](https://musicbrainz.org/release/af20540a-a755-4821-88b6-ae9d27b5939f) Written and produced entirely by Tyler Okonma, the 4:38 piano-led ballad examines his resemblance to his estranged father and closes with a spoken-word confession from his mother, Bonita Smith, that she had kept the father out of his life.[3](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/358452-like-him/27/) • [4](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/01/g-s1-31105/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-review) It became the most-streamed track from *CHROMAKOPIA* and reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5](https://darkmode.wppool.dev/www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2024-12-21/) • [6](https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/4V8LLVI7PbaPR0K2TGSxFF_songs.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | October 28, 2024, track 12 on *CHROMAKOPIA* (Columbia Records); 4:38[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chromakopia/1776500452) |
| Single | Issued to US rhythmic radio on February 11, 2025 as the album's third single[7](https://tylerthecreator.fandom.com/wiki/Like_Him) |
| Writers and producers | Written and produced by Tyler Okonma; bass by Thundercat; mixing by Neal Pogue; mastering by Mike Bozzi[2](https://musicbrainz.org/release/af20540a-a755-4821-88b6-ae9d27b5939f) |
| Vocals | Lead vocals Tyler Okonma and Lola Young; additional vocals Bonita Smith; background vocals Justin Levy and Robert "RAab" Stevenson; an ad-lib by Baby Keem[2](https://musicbrainz.org/release/af20540a-a755-4821-88b6-ae9d27b5939f) |
| Billboard Hot 100 | Debuted at number 45 on November 9, 2024; peaked at number 29 on November 16, 2024; certified Platinum twice by the RIAA[5](https://darkmode.wppool.dev/www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2024-12-21/) |
| UK charts | Peaked at number 30 on the Official Singles Chart (16 January 2025) and number 4 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/tyler-the-creator-like-him/) |
| Streaming | About 855 million Spotify streams as of October 2026, the most-streamed song on *CHROMAKOPIA*[6](https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/4V8LLVI7PbaPR0K2TGSxFF_songs.html) |
| Meter and keys | 6/8 time; the Hooktheory analysis maps the intro to A harmonic minor and later sections to G major and D major[9](https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/tyler-the-creator/like-him) |
## Subject and lyrical content
The song is a ballad about Tyler's unknown father, whom he calls a "ghost."[7](https://tylerthecreator.fandom.com/wiki/Like_Him) Over a sparse piano figure, Tyler puzzles over his physical resemblance to a man he has said he never met while growing up, singing "Mama, I'm chasing a ghost / Do I look like him?"[10](https://www.grammy.com/news/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-new-album-review-takeaways/) The repeated phrase functions, in one analysis, as a mantra of obsession, drilling the central conflict into the listener's mind.[11](https://songsense.io/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young)
The song's ending inverts the premise. After Tyler spends the track reflecting on his similarities to the man he barely knows, his mother drops the bombshell: "He's always wanted to be a father to you. … He's a good guy," she tells him.[12](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia/) NPR's review describes the revelation, reiterated explicitly by his mother at the song's end, that she kept Tyler's father out of his life and that he was not abandoned.[4](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/01/g-s1-31105/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-review) Tyler reaches for catharsis rather than the vindictive anger he had directed at his father a decade earlier on "Answer" (2013): "How could I ever miss somethin' / That I'd never had? / I would never judge ya / 'Cause everything worked out without him."[4](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/01/g-s1-31105/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-review) Critics read the track as a continuation of "Answer" from the 2013 album *[Wolf](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolf-tyler-the-creator-album)*.[13](https://www.allmusic.com/album/chromakopia-mw0004400291)
## Composition and production
"Like Him" builds from a minimalist piano melody into fuller instrumentation: drums, hi-hats, and a distorted guitar enter as the track progresses, mirroring the escalation of Tyler's internal conflict.[11](https://songsense.io/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young) Tyler's vocal delivery is understated and conversational, contrasted with Lola Young's ethereal backing vocals, which one analysis describes as adding a questioning, dreamlike quality.[11](https://songsense.io/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young) The Washington Post called it "an uncluttered piano ballad" sung in a meek falsetto far from the baritone Tyler raps in.[14](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2024/10/31/tyler-creator-chromakopia-review/) Reviewers have noted the contrast between Young's high-pitched voice and Tyler's lower register, with Young sounding childlike in a way that recalls Tyler reminiscing about his childhood.[15](https://jakezeng.substack.com/p/chromakopia-by-tyler-the-creator) Bonita Smith opens and closes the track in spoken word, grounding the song in conversational reality.[11](https://songsense.io/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young)
**Nearly left off the album.** Tyler later said "Like Him" almost did not make *CHROMAKOPIA*; [Daniel Caesar](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-caesar) looked at him and asked if he had lost his mind, telling him to put it on the album.[16](https://sudetyraport.com/2025/09/i-listen-as-i-am-told-i-listen-as-i-say-dont-tap-the-glass/) In the same account, Tyler said "Like Him" turned out to be the biggest track on the album and that "Like Him" and "[Sticky](https://www.edgepedia.org/sticky-tyler-the-creator-song)" were multi-platinum, despite his expectation that other songs would perform better.[16](https://sudetyraport.com/2025/09/i-listen-as-i-am-told-i-listen-as-i-say-dont-tap-the-glass/)
## Reception and commercial performance
Critics singled the song out within the album. NPR called it the somber point where the album's thoughts on fatherhood come to a head, with rawness and vulnerability in Tyler's singing.[4](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/01/g-s1-31105/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-review) The Guardian noted that the song ponders paternal abandonment before ending with his mother's voice informing him it is her fault he never met his father.[17](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/28/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-album-review) On Album of the Year, the track holds a user score of 93 from more than 7,000 ratings, with 97 percent of users liking it.[18](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/358452-like-him/87/)
Commercially, "Like Him" debuted at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated November 9, 2024, rose to a peak of number 29 the following week, and was certified Platinum twice by the RIAA.[5](https://darkmode.wppool.dev/www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2024-12-21/) In the United Kingdom it spent 17 weeks on the Official Singles Chart, peaking at number 30, and reached number 4 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart.[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/tyler-the-creator-like-him/) On Spotify it charted for 44 weeks in the United States with a peak of number 11 and accumulated 212 million US chart streams, and it stands at roughly 855 million total streams as of October 2026.[6](https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/4V8LLVI7PbaPR0K2TGSxFF_songs.html) • [19](https://hitslist.fyi/song/tyler-the-creator-like-him-hj6qrac6yjxf) Billboard placed it at number 62 on its Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2025.[2](https://musicbrainz.org/release/af20540a-a755-4821-88b6-ae9d27b5939f)
The song also spread through social media: it trended on TikTok, where users used it in posts about complicated parent-child relationships, and some listeners later described it as overplayed after it became a hit.[20](https://songtell.com/tyler-the-creator/like-him) • [21](https://ratingsmusic.com/song/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young-3)
## References
1. [CHROMAKOPIA – Album by Tyler, The Creator, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chromakopia/1776500452)
2. [Release "CHROMAKOPIA" by Tyler, The Creator, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/af20540a-a755-4821-88b6-ae9d27b5939f)
3. [Tyler, The Creator – Like Him – Song Ratings, Album of the Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/358452-like-him/27/)
4. [Bless this mess: Tyler, the Creator and the chaos of adulting, NPR (November 2, 2024)](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/01/g-s1-31105/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-review)
5. [Billboard Hot 100 chart page dated December 21, 2024](https://darkmode.wppool.dev/www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2024-12-21/)
6. [Tyler, The Creator – Spotify Top Songs, kworb.net](https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/4V8LLVI7PbaPR0K2TGSxFF_songs.html)
7. [Like Him, Tyler, the Creator Wiki (Fandom)](https://tylerthecreator.fandom.com/wiki/Like_Him)
8. [LIKE HIM – TYLER THE CREATOR, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/tyler-the-creator-like-him/)
9. [Like Him Chords and Melody, HookTheory](https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/tyler-the-creator/like-him)
10. [Breaking Down Tyler, The Creator's 'Chromakopia', GRAMMY.com (October 28, 2024)](https://www.grammy.com/news/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-new-album-review-takeaways/)
11. [Meaning of "Like Him (feat. Lola Young)" by Tyler, The Creator, SongSense](https://songsense.io/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young)
12. [Tyler, the Creator: CHROMAKOPIA Album Review, Pitchfork (October 31, 2024)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia/)
13. [Tyler, The Creator: CHROMAKOPIA Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/chromakopia-mw0004400291)
14. [Tyler, the Creator only wants to make masterpieces, The Washington Post (October 31, 2024)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2024/10/31/tyler-creator-chromakopia-review/)
15. [CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler, the Creator: Analysis and Review, Jake Zeng (Substack)](https://jakezeng.substack.com/p/chromakopia-by-tyler-the-creator)
16. [I listen as I am told. I listen as I say. DON'T TAP THE GLASS, SudetyRaport (September 2025)](https://sudetyraport.com/2025/09/i-listen-as-i-am-told-i-listen-as-i-say-dont-tap-the-glass/)
17. [Tyler, the Creator: Chromakopia review, The Guardian (October 28, 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/28/tyler-the-creator-chromakopia-album-review)
18. [Tyler, The Creator – Like Him – Song Ratings (rating distribution), Album of the Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/358452-like-him/87/)
19. [Like Him by Tyler, The Creator: chart & list history, hitslist.fyi](https://hitslist.fyi/song/tyler-the-creator-like-him-hj6qrac6yjxf)
20. ["Like Him" by Tyler, The Creator – Meaning & Analysis, Songtell](https://songtell.com/tyler-the-creator/like-him)
21. [Like Him (feat. Lola Young) – Tyler, The Creator, RatingsMusic](https://ratingsmusic.com/song/tyler-the-creator/like-him-feat-lola-young-3)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Hip-hop songs › 2020s hip-hop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license