Latest news with #TylerTheCreator
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Tyler, the Creator at 3Arena review: A brilliantly evocative, provocative performance
Tyler, the Creator 3Arena, Dublin ★★★★☆ Long before Kneecap were drawing the wrath of the British establishment, Tyler, the Creator had a claim to the title of most controversial name in rap. Lyrics strewn with apparently homophobic and misogynistic remarks earned him a ban from the UK government in 2015 on the grounds that he posed a threat to public order. Turned away at the border, he claimed he was being treated like a terrorist. But as is often the case with talented demagogues caught up in a moral panic, there was more to Tyler than shock value – though songs such as Radicals were undoubtedly shocking ('Kill people, burn shit, f**k school'). Notoriety established, he would spool off in the opposite direction with music that celebrated the simple joys of life and connection. He also broke one of mainstream music's ultimate taboos by hinting in his lyrics that he was sexually fluid ('Sorry to the guys I had to hide/ Sorry to the girls I had to lie to'). READ MORE The many sides to Tyler are on show during a brilliantly evocative and provocative concert at 3Arena on Saturday night. It begins with the 34-year-old Angeleno materialising in a gloopy green haze, like a groovy Wizard of Oz. A mask covers the top half of his face as he opens with the gorgeous orchestral swell of St Chroma, a gauzy banger from his latest album, Chromakopia. All the way back to his formative hip-hop group Odd Future – whose enthusiasm for violent wordplay saw them barred from New Zealand – Tyler has been an astute manipulator of image. This latest tour begins with the rapper wearing a military-style outfit that accentuates the frame of his body, suggesting a cartoon character brought to life. The outrageous costume is combined with robotic dance moves. He pops and wheels like a cybernetic James Brown while white gloves and epaulettes riff on dress-like-a-dictator era Michael Jackson. Inspired by his mother's life, his struggles with fame and the Lewis Carrollesque children's fantasy novel The Phantom Tollbooth, from 1961, his new tracks Noid and I Killed You blend pastoral melodies and nail-spitting rhyming. But the gloves come off when a gantry descends, and he walks above the crowd. He dispenses with the face covering, too, as he plunges into the emotive Take Your Mask Off, an emotive rumination on staying true to your real self. The theatrics are amped up further when Tyler descends to a mock-up of his teenage bedroom. Here he indulges in some staged insulting of the audience, dubbing them 'w**kers' – a word he surely didn't pick up in suburban Los Angeles. He next cycles through the body-horror hit parade of Yonkers and Tron Cat, the tunes that saw him turned away by UK customs (on the orders of Theresa May, who was home secretary at the time). Nightmares turn to dreamy escapism when he returns to the main stage for a seismic Thought I Was Dead before he brings down the curtains with a soulful power ballad, I Hope You Find Your Way Home. While pyrotechnics ping, he leans into his beautifully syrupy falsetto and expresses the hope that everyone in the room gets to where they are meant to be. Hip hop's one-time bete noire has cycled through his multitude of personas and stands before the adoring room older, wiser, sadder and sweeter. It is a reminder to other rappers likewise vilified by the authorities: they can scorn and demonise you, but they can never take away your voice.
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Event Guide: Tyler, the Creator; The Cat Laughs; and the other best things to do in Ireland this week
Event of the week Tyler, the Creator Saturday and Sunday, May 24th & May 25th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €130.80/€105.50 (sold out), One of the most influential figures in alternative hip-hop of the past 15 years, Tyler, the Creator – the name is derived from a long-since deleted MySpace page – was seen, in his provocative early years, as a threat to public order and the public interest: in 2015, Theresa May, as UK home secretary, banned him from entering Britain for up to five years; lyrics on his album Bastard, from 2009, were cited as the cause. By then he had already been nominated for a Grammy; now he's a double winner, for his albums Igor and Call Me If You Get Lost. These two sold-out shows will feature up to 40 songs from his extensive back catalogue, including a chunk of tracks from his latest album, Chromakopia. Special guests include the US hip-hop acts Lil Yachty and Paris Texas. Gigs Scissor Sisters Tuesday, May 27th, SSE Arena, Belfast, 6.30pm, £98/£56.50; Wednesday, May 28th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €96.25/€70.70/€54.85, Scissor Sisters. Photograph: Kevin Tachman They were the good-time band of the 2000s, flexing their pecs as they belted out an anarchic mix of disco, glam rock and electroclash. Returning after an extended hiatus (and without two of their original members, their singer Ana Matronic and their drummer Paddy Boom), the group now features Jake Shears, Scott Hoffman and Del Marquis Gruen. This concert marks 20th (ish) birthdays of their self-titled debut album and its follow-up, Ta-Dah, from 2004 and 2006. Remembering Christy Dignam Thursday, May 29th, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7.30pm, €44, Last year's inaugural concert to celebrate the memory and the music of Christy Dignam , Aslan 's original frontman, who died on June 13th, 2023, was so successful that a sequel was inevitable. Guests for the second outing add up to a who's who of Irish performers, including Mundy, Steve Wall, Tom Dunne, The 4 of Us, Shobsy, Brian McFadden, George Murphy and Kiera Dignam. The cohosts are the comedians Eric Lalor and Enya Martin. Villagers Thursday, May 29th, Helix, Dublin, 7pm, €46, Villagers, from Tony Clayton-Lea for The Guide, Saturday, May 24, 2025. In April 2015 Conor O'Brien and his musical project Villagers released their third album, Darling Arithmetic . It was actually one of his solo endeavours, O'Brien playing every instrument on songs that pointedly addressed topics of the heart and mind. It was no surprise when the album went on to win the best-album gong at the Ivor Novello Awards in 2016. O'Brien will play Darling Arithmetic in its entirety, then complete the evening with a selection of songs from his other five (equally acclaimed) studio albums. READ MORE Spoken word Every Blooming Thing: A Spoken Word Roadshow Thursday, May 29th, Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Co Louth, 8pm, €18, ; Friday, May 30th, Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare, 8pm, €18, Erin Fornoff The poets Colm Keegan and Erin Fornoff are touring Ireland to celebrate life's ordinary pleasures. With a title inspired by three words from Patrick Kavanagh's Inniskeen Road: July Evening – 'A road, a mile of kingdom, I am king of banks and stones and every blooming thing' – each show will feature a local writer or poet (selected from a preshow workshop) and a guest musician. Also Thursday, June 5th, Ramor Arts Centre, Virginia, Co Cavan, ; Friday, June 6th, Backstage Theatre, Longford, ; Saturday, June 7th, Roscommon Arts Centre, . Manuscript art Words on the Wave: Ireland and St Gallen in Early Medieval Europe From Friday, May 30th, until Friday, October 24th, National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin, free, Metal, stone and manuscript art from Ireland's golden age form the basis of a unique exhibition of early medieval artefacts from the Abbey of St Gallen, in Switzerland. Alongside them are more than 100 objects from the National Museum's collection. The exhibition includes fragments of the earliest surviving copy of Isidore's Etymologiae, which was written by an Irish scribe in the seventh century and later transported to St Gallen. Opera Blackwater Valley Opera Festival From Monday, May 26th, until Monday, June 2nd, Lismore, Co Waterford, various venues, times and prices, For the first time in its 15-year history, Blackwater Valley Opera Festival presents two full opera productions: Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (Tuesday, May 27th, and Thursday, May 29th, St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore) and Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Wednesday, May 28th; Friday, May 30th; and Sunday, June 1st, Lismore Castle). The festival also features live performances in neighbouring towns and countries, including Castlemartyr, Cappoquin, Dungarvan, Stradbally and Youghal. Comedy The Cat Laughs Monday, May 26th, Derry, various venues, times and prices; Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27th and 28th, Castlebar, Co Mayo, various venues, times and prices; Friday-Monday, May 30th-June 2nd, Kilkenny, various venues, times and prices, A multitude of mostly Irish comedians perform around the island this week and into next weekend's bank holiday with a series of solo and collaborative shows in Derry, Castlebar and Kilkenny, the original home of the long-running comedy festival. High-profile names, including Deirdre O'Kane, Rich Hall, Jason Byrne, Barry Murphy, Kyla Cobbler, Alison Spittle, Colm O'Regan and Colin Murphy, will mix it up with emerging comics, including Amy Gledhill, Shane Todd and Ali Woods. Still running Open Ear Festival Thursday-Sunday, May 29th-June 1st, Sherkin Island, Co Cork, various prices and times, Little O Sherkin Island's camping-only Open Ear Festival returns for three days and nights of music, connection and small-event intimacy. A broad range of music acts and DJs feature across the weekend, including I Dreamed a Dream, Elaine Malone, Róis, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Little O, No Place Like Drone and Sunil Sharpe. Book it this week Masters of Tradition Festival, Bantry, Co Cork, August 20th-24th, Michael Rother, Button Factory, Dublin, September 19th, Baxter Dury, Vicar Street, Dublin, November 12th, Lorde, RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, November 22nd,
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Music Quiz: Uptown Funk namechecks which popular actor in the first verse?
Which rapper makes her feature film debut in Spike Lee's forthcoming crime movie Highest 2 Lowest? Nicki Minaj Doja Cat Megan Thee Stallion Ice Spice Who made Grammy Awards history by refusing a gong? Sinéad O'Connor Kris Kristofferson Kurt Cobain Patti Smith Scissor Sisters named a song after which Beatle on their 2006 album, Ta-Dah? Ringo Starr John Lennon George Harrison Paul McCartney A particular Bangles song can be heard several times during the 2024 thriller Speak No Evil, starring James McAvoy. Which one? Walk Like an Egyptian If She Knew What She Wants Eternal Flame Manic Monday Complete the title of the forthcoming memoir by Del Amitri's Justin Currie, The Tremolo Diaries: Life on the Road and Other... Stories Diseases Songs Trials Rapper and record producer Tyler Okonma is better known as Tyler, the Creator. What is his middle name? George Gregory Graham Gilbert Who both produced Irish band The Atrix's 1980 single Treasure on the Wasteland, and played at Wembley Stadium's Live Aid event in 1985? Bono Bob Geldof Elvis Costello Midge Ure 2014's Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars namechecks which actress in the first verse? Susan Sarandon Michelle Pfeiffer Geena Davis Jessica Lange What's the car brand in the title of Post Malone's 2018 album, Beerbongs &...? Bugatti BMW Buick Bentley Complete the title of the 1992 debut album by TLC: [Blank]...On the TLC Tip. Ooohhh Oooohhh Oooooooh Ooooooohhh
Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Tyler, the Creator review — ten years on from his UK ban, the rapper let loose
From a record crate on a homely lounge stage out in the crowd, Tyler, the Creator pulled a copy of his 2011 album Goblin and waved it aloft like a youthful rap sheet. 'This album got me banned from this country,' he said, referencing a five-year ban handed down personally by Theresa May in 2015 due to the horrorcore rap provocateur being so lyrically liberal with references to violence, homophobia, misogyny and rape. 'I was a menace,' he confessed. But a decade on, the 34-year-old stood before the O2 arena as rap's most unlikely Renaissance man. Since 2017's Flower Boy he has been incorporating classic psychedelic soul, jazz and sweet-hearted pop balladry into his increasingly self-analysing albums, and has admitted to a fluid sexuality. 'Sorry
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Tyler, the Creator review – a fiery performance from a giddy rap god
Fireworks explode, flames burn, smoke engulfs the room and a screech erupts from the audience as a masked Tyler, the Creator emerges from a thick green haze to the gut-rumbling bass of St Chroma. It's rare to hear such a frenzied response to new songs but it establishes the mood for an evening during which the LA rapper's most recent work, from 2024's Chromakopia, is received with the same level of adoration as old favourites. And he runs through the album almost in its entirety. Performing solo on stage to a backing track, he bounces giddily but gracefully across the vast space. The bass frequently hits outrageously hard throughout the evening, shaking the building's foundations, such as during the grinding charge of Noid. While effective, the frequent bass drops do sometimes kill some of the detail in the music, as well as perhaps overcompensating for the lack of live instrumentation. By the midpoint, things get cosy and intimate as an unmasked Tyler, the Creator walks a huge floating catwalk to a stage made to look like a living room. He takes his shoes off and flicks through a box of vinyl before picking out his own LPs and placing them on a turntable. Yonkers and Who Dat Boy absolutely detonate the room, with the latter track spawning huge circle pits in the audience as bodies pinball around inside. This section, while conceptually neat, can feel a little passive at points, with Tyler not always singing fully over the shortened songs, and it coming across more like a DJ set, or as though he is curating a mixtape of his own life's work in real time. However, he leans further into performance during the final run. His impassioned, raspy delivery of Thought I Was Dead is remarkably raw and his flow is both fluid and furious. The crowd harmonising on See You Again is genuinely beautiful, and as he winds up with I Hope You Find Your Way Home, he finishes the evening the same way he started it: with new songs being rapturously received like they are already classics. Tyler, the Creator is at the O2, London, on 19 May and touring the UK until 31 May
