Tyler, The Creator seen in the UK for first time since being banned
Written by News on 18/05/2019
The rapper Tyler, The Creator has posted a picture of himself outside Buckingham Palace in London for the first time since he was banned from the UK in 2015.
The American performer was banned after unearthed lyrics of his from 2009 encouraged “violence and intolerance of homosexuality”, according to the Home Office.
He is set to perform a surprise show in the capital, teasing it on twitter saying: “LONDON, IGOR, 3PM” with a video of himself punching the air and running around on The Mall in central London.
He then followed it up with a photograph of himself outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, adding “LONDON; IGOR; 3PM; WILL UPDATE YOU LATER WITH LOCATION”
The US Gold-selling artist later tweeted: “COPELAND PARK, BUSSEY BUILDING, 3PM”
His ban on entering the UK was reportedly lifted in February and this is thought to be his first visit since then.
Tyler, The Creator, real name Tyler Gregory Okonma, released his fifth studio album called Igor on Friday, which he references in his tweets.
At the time of his ban in 2015, he tweeted to say: “BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS ( although i was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED.”
His manager, Christian Clancy admitted the lyrics in question “make him cringe”, and he questioned why Tyler was being beholden to things he had said when he was 18.
Clancy said his client’s ban was a “free speech” issue and suggested that it could have been racially motivated.
Tyler, The Creator has had four top 5 albums in the US and the same number of top 20 albums in the UK.
(c) Sky News 2019: Tyler, The Creator seen in the UK for first time since being banned
