Now one of alternative rap’s most influential auteurs, Tyler, The Creator has come a long way since the early, outrage-baiting days of Odd Future – his sprawling, LA-based collective of creatives that also included names such as Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, and The Internet founders Syd and Matt Martians. When the group first appeared on Jimmy Fallon in their sharpie-scrawled balaclavas back in 2011, the performance felt like a cultural reset; chaotic, transgressive, and gleefully dragging experimental rap out of the dark corners of Tumblr, and straight into the mainstream.
And Tyler, with his warped, perverse alter-egos who spouted homophobic slurs with a smirk, and drolly threatened to stab Bruno Mars in the oesophagus atop the janky, juddering beat of his break-out track Yonkers, quickly became the most notorious of the lot. Back when she was Prime Minister, Theresa May infamously banned him from the UK on account of his heavily fictionalised, satirical lyrics that allegedly “encourage violence” – he eventually returned to play here again in 2019, and the current Chromakopia tour is his first UK tour in six years. Though that album features a string of guest names, ranging from Doechii to Lola Young, last night was exclusively a one-man show.
Though Tyler, The Creator has grown into a sophisticated and singular artist since those shock-fuelled beginnings, his love of conceptual identities and wearing different artistic masks has stuck around – for opening song St Chroma, he appeared from within a stack of lurid-green shipping containers, clad in the same military gear he wears on the album sleeve and backed by ferocious pyrotechnics. A woozily-produced Judge Judy, and Darling, I were two of the standouts from a Chromakopia-heavy opening segment, with nine tracks from the 2024 release arriving in rapid succession. As Tyler made his way onto a beam-lit catwalk for the Neptunes-influenced Sticky, a mosh pit raged below him. The unchained chaos of the record was mirrored by intense shots of red light, and thumping, slightly muddy bass that occasionally overwhelmed his vocals.
From here, Tyler strolled right into an enclosed room in the middle of The O2, and casually transformed the arena show into his own personal living room. After changing into an outfit from his fashion brand Golf Wang, the rapper began slowly ambling around a studio-styled room set up, multiple cameras capturing his antics and projecting them onto the big screens. Rifling through a selection of vinyl records, featuring many of his own albums along with Erykah Badu, Black Eyed Peas, and OutKast, he took the crowd on a whistle-stop tour through his back catalogue to date, featuring Yonkers, IGOR’s neo-soul-styled love song Earfquake, Wolf’s frenetic and defiant Tamale, and Call Me If You Get Lost’s standout DOGTOOTH.
Aside from his dreamy, string-laden hit See You Again, Tyler, The Creator remains something of an albums artist, better known for his thorny and singular concept records than his chart-baiting easy-wins. The relatively low-key segment was a clever way of revisiting older material, but by the time the distinctive green of Chromakopia returned, accompanied by a torrential downpour of golden sparks and yet more fireworks, it was one last welcome gear shift.
A gripping, and well-paced show that kept everyone on their toes, it also featured some of the most creative, theatrical live staging of the year so far. Though Tyler, The Creator has grown and developed a great deal as an artist over the years, a sense of surprise, and the element of the unexpected that catapulted him to fame has – refreshingly – never gone away.
Touring. Information at chromakopiatour.com
