Tyler, The Creator has taken aim at Australia in his latest track, savaging our allegedly selective visa laws. The controversial rapper cancelled a planned Australia tour earlier this year, following calls for the government to revoke his visa.
In a new song titled ‘Fuck It’, Tyler takes aim at many of his critics, including Australia, rapping, “Tell Australia I’m sneaking in with a mic in my damn hand / Instead of the vegetables that I packed in my backpack”.
The 24-year-old rapper goes on to suggest that there are racist undertones to why he was barred from entering Australia over violent and homophobic lyrics, but a white artist like Eminem, who has similar lyrics, was allowed in.
“When Marshall had this problem what the fuck was they telling him? / Is it cause of status or his melanin lacks black”, Tyler raps, before framing the issue as more about righteous indignation: “I think people love to be mad”.
It’s not the first time the issue has been raised. Popular music blog Pitchfork recently published an op-ed in which they examined the racist nature of a recent campaign to ban R&B singer Chris Brown.
The op-ed points out that while activist groups like GetUp! and Collective Shout, who led the call to ban Tyler, The Creator from touring Australia, both targeted Chris Brown, Eminem was allowed to “come and go as he pleases”.
The writer goes on to list several white artists with histories of domestic violence who were recently allowed to tour Australia, including Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, and Guns N Roses guitarist Slash.
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‘Fuck It’, which readers can hear below, also sees Tyler denying claims of misogyny and homophobia, albeit in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. “How can I be misogynistic love titties and ass”, he raps, adding, “How can I be homophobic when my boyfriend’s a fag?”
