Hip-hop and controversy often go hand in hand, but not usually to the extremes of Tyler, The Creator, the leader of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) East Coast rap collective.
The 22 year old paid a visit to our fine country last week, bringing with him fellow OFWGKTA alt-rapper Earl Sweatshirt, and a colossal media frenzy.
Amidst allegations of verbal abuse at one of his shows, as well as a shut-down in-store signing, a Liberal Party MP begged Prime Minister Julia Gillard to have the rap leader banned from the country and have his visa revoked. But luckily for the fans that sold out Melbourne’s The Palace Theatre, the show did go on, and the EARLWOLF tour, which featured the two Odd Future comrades, proceeded with full swag-filled force.
The duo surprised the chatty audience, beginning their set half an hour early, and were accompanied on stage by two more of their hip-hop crew associates, Jasper Dolphin and Taco Bennett.
Well-mannered as ever, Tyler greeted the crowd with a friendly “what’s up assholes?” immediately revealing one of the most distinguishable features of the rapper. His extraordinarily deep voice did not at all match his thin and youthful stature. On a number of occasions throughout the evening, he asked the crowd if there were “any black people here?” pointing out the curious fact that such a “white looking bunch” would listen to such “black people music.”
Tyler led the way through an impressively long hour and a half set, featuring songs from his latest album, 2013’s WOLF, as well as tracks from 2011’s Goblin and 2009’s Bastard. His co-rapper Earl Sweatshirt performed beside him throughout, but only had the chance to lead the show in several numbers.
If you’re not one for crass and offensive language, then this gig would not at all been for you. Within the first five minutes, you’d have lost count of the amount of times the infamous homosexual and misogynist that is Tyler, The Creator, used the words “faggot”, “bitch” or nigga”, though he was well aware of it. “I’m not too sure how many people actually like me,” he declared, “Do you faggots know this song?” he asked, followed by “you probably don’t know the words, so just yell for no reason.” Yet, with their constant cheering and jumping up and down, the incredibly enthusiastic mob certainly proved him wrong.
While the hip-hop duo, with their two companions, appeared as though they were just gallivanting around the stage, mucking around like mates, playing with their sweaty towels, having a jolly old time, they did indeed know how to work a crowd. Bouncing off each other’s energy, Tyler and Earl had the masses responding to their every action. Towards the ending of the set Tyler requested, nay demanded, that punters make a circle pit.
“I want you to act like you hate the song. Then go nuts when the bass drops… Make a circle you idiots.” Again, charming as ever. But even when spoken to like a pack of insignificants, the crowd roared with enthusiasm and delight.
The night’s only downfalls came in the form of Tyler’s muffled lyrics and disappointingly short songs. The pair both cut their tracks down considerably, often only getting part way through the verses before calling it quits and moving on to the next track. But regardless of the fact they were rushed along from one song to another, it was more than evident that the audience were smitten, hanging around for an encore that never came.
