Tyler, the Creator’s impromptu gig in London today (May 18) was pulled at the last minute following security concerns about overcrowding.
The American rapper, who released his new album ‘IGOR’ yesterday, had posted cryptic tweets of himself dancing around outside Buckingham Palace earlier today, with fans speculating that he was going to put on a gig. He later confirmed the news and revealed that he would perform at Peckham’s Bussey Building at 3pm.
COPELAND PARK, BUSSEY BUILDING, 3PM
— Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) May 18, 2019
LONDON, IGOR, 3PM pic.twitter.com/lrYNPrPAY6
— Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) May 18, 2019
Later, after what appeared to be hundreds of fans turning up to the event, the gig was cancelled – just 10 minutes on from when Tyler was due to perform. Police informed Metro: “front management have shut the site down.
“The whole thing has been shut down because security doesn’t like what’s going on here.”
Tyler has since shared a video on his Instagram explaining what happened.
“I was gonna do something special but you guys got too rowdy,” Tyler’s friend and collaborator Jasper Dolphin says in the clip while the rapper whispers messages into his ear. “Go home…don’t be in the streets, it’s not safe – I’m going to come back to London at some point.”
Southwark Police also shared a statement on Twitter: “A music event scheduled to take place at Bussey Building, Rye Lane, SE15 on Saturday, 18 May, was cancelled by the venue due to overcrowding issues. No crimes, reported injuries or arrests. Police are in the area to help ensure the crowd disperses safely.”
A music event scheduled to take place at Bussey Building, Rye Lane, SE15 on Saturday, 18 May, was cancelled by the venue due to overcrowding issues. No crimes, reported injuries or arrests. Police are in the area to help ensure the crowd disperses safely
— MPS Southwark (@MPSSouthwark) May 18, 2019
Fans posted footage and photos of the busy scenes in Peckham. Some claimed there was minimal security and information at the concert.
Inside the @tylerthecreator gig that didn’t happen, Peckham got shut down. ??? pic.twitter.com/68WIa6zZ7p
— Elliot Sinclair (@ElliotSinclair) May 18, 2019
Crazy place for a secret gig by @tylerthecreator audience well behaved and sensible despite minimal security and no information pic.twitter.com/Sfs3876eka
— Sukhvinder Kaur (@SukhvinderKS) May 18, 2019
One attendee told Metro that there was no security. “It was quite confusing and after waiting for an hour someone on a megaphone said he wasn’t coming but no one trusted it so everyone just stayed.
“But when the police came people started leaving,” the person said.
Current scenes in Peckham at @CopelandParkSE due to @tylerthecreator secret gig… @peckhampeculiar pic.twitter.com/DpSRImRj45
— Miranda Knox (@Mirandaknox) May 18, 2019
Meanwhile, a fan has today spotted Tyler’s album title, ‘IGOR’, seemingly displayed outside the O2 Academy Brixton, leading to speculation that there would be a rescheduled show.
https://twitter.com/danisoysauce/status/1129808019037052929?s=21
The venue’s representative Louise Kovacs, however, told NME there are no planned Tyler, the Creator shows.
Tyler’s decision to try and play in London is notable; he was reportedly banned from visiting the UK in 2015. A series of shows were cancelled at the time and he tweeted that he had been banned for “three to five years” because of lyrics he’d penned back in 2009.
The artist’s manager Christian Clancy posted a more detailed explanation behind the ban in a lengthy Tumblr essay.
Clancy wrote: “Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between 3 to 5 years per a letter from the secretary of state for the home department of the united kingdom…
“To say that I am confused would be an understatement. Can you imagine being beholden to things you said when you were 18? tyler has been to the UK over 20x in the last 5 years without incident,” he continued, referencing a show in the capital, “literally last month.”
Meanwhile, Tyler unveiled his new album ‘IGOR’ yesterday. It’s headed up by an impressive array of guests including Frank Ocean, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams.
The fifth studio album from the Odd Future leader hears Frank Ocean appear on ‘Running Out Of Time’, while ‘New Magic Wand’ sees guest spots from both A$AP Rocky and Santigold. Arguably the biggest cameo is saved for later on when Kanye appears on ‘Puppet’. The track comes ahead of ‘Are We Still Friends’, which closes the record with an appearance from Pharrell Williams.
In a four-star review, NME hailed it as Tyler’s best record yet.
“Backed by a supporting cast of R&B superstars and bright newcomers, it’s a record of long, lazy summers; sitting back and staring at the clouds,” our verdict stated.
Additional reporting by Charlotte Krol