“I’m so wet...who wants to lick it off?”
To a sea of 3,000 enamoured fans crammed into Brixton’s O2 Academy, the fluorescent-suit-wearing/bowl-cut-sporting Californian rapper emphatically returned to the U.K. for the first time in over 4 years. In a cesspool of sweat, suspense, and hysteria, Tyler, The Creator ultimately delivered one of the most indelible sets so far in 2019.
Rewind to 4 years ago, Home Secretary Theresa May formally banned Tyler Okonma from entering the U.K. on the premise his lyrics ‘encourage[d] violence and intolerance of homosexuality’ - perhaps not a surprising feat considering May’s track record coupled with Tyler’s more-than-contentious lyricism. Yet since this event, certain things have shifted - May has since stepped away from the political scene and Tyler has noticeably matured as an artist and, rather ironically, become an LGBTQ icon for his latest 2 LPs, Flower Boy and Igor. Surging toward a more neo-soul, alternative-R&B path within these two shining examples, this rapper/singer/producer has garnered an unprecedented wave of critical acclaim within this field - most recently exploring the concept of a darkening relationship through the fictional character of Igor, someone we’ve all come to see tonight.
The shuddering basslines imbued by ‘Igor’s Theme’ commenced Tyler’s emphatic entrance into the fray of Brixton Academy, imminently swelled by the crowd’s noise and grooving to the successive Kanye West-inspired beats structuring ‘I Think’. With a near-perfect inception to the set, the crowd were soon scorched by one of the night’s beefiest basslines in a foray of clashes and thrashes from Tyler on stage to ‘New Magic Wand’. Whilst the highly-anticipated single of ‘Earfquake’ failed to reach the romantic heights in its live format, the piano prelude leading into this heartfelt aura tingled the spines of those trapped in the depths of this sweat-infested sauna.
"I'm so fucking tired...I'm taking that off the setlist".
The much-required respite arrived soon enough from Tyler’s older alt-R&B-flavoured discography, emblematic of his musical turning point of lyrical introversion and narrative focus. From ‘911’, to ‘IFHY’, and ‘Okra’, these tracks offered a relevant plateau situated within a set that only proved to be the start of something special for this sold-out crowd. Just catching their breath, Tyler yet again slid into hysterically grinding basslines revelled within ‘Yonkers’ and ‘Who Dat Boy’ - with the former ratcheting up the room’s temperature to an almost-unbearable degree of pyrotechnic flares.
Excavating the entirety of his burgeoning emotional soul at the culmination of ‘Are We Still Friends?’, Tyler’s transformed self was finally presented to the capital in an emphatic return. Once demonised, the musician is now lauded as one of the most sought-after producers and songwriters today, wading through various layers of soul, funk, R&B, and hip-hop in a brutally intense capsule of time - equally paired with the cruising of Tyler’s repertoire encased in such high octane tracks. Whilst the set design could have been embellished slightly more, as well as some improvisational interaction with the crowd, the talisman officially inverted his former ‘banned’ status into a much-cherished and beloved one - justifying these accolades tonight to an enamoured crowd that would disturbingly accept his initial offer regarding sweat.
9/10
Tyler, The Creator's latest LP, Igor, is out now and can be found here.
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