This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Artist News Gigs & Festivals Legal
Tyler, The Creator accuses UK government of ‘treating him like a terrorist’
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 2 September 2015
Tyler, The Creator has accused the British government of treating him “like a terrorist” after barring him from entering the UK to perform a series of shows, including at last weekend’s Reading and Leeds festivals.
Indeed, as The Guardian notes in its interview with the rapper on the subject, the rules under which he was blocked were originally designed to prevent suspected terrorists from entering the country. In this case, the “behaviours unacceptable in the UK” list was used to turn Tyler away because of lyrics on two of his albums, which he says he “never performs” anymore.
He was apparently told in a letter from the Home Office that the lyrics could “lead to intercommunity violence in the UK”, explaining: “Your albums ‘Bastard’, in 2009, and ‘Goblin’, in 2011, are based on the premise of your adopting a mentally unstable alter ego who describes violent physical abuse, rape and murder in graphic terms which appears to glamourise this behaviour”.
“I’m getting treated like a terrorist”, said the rapper. “I’m bummed out because it’s like, dude, I’m not homophobic. I’ve said this since the beginning. The ‘hating women’ thing – it’s so nuts. It’s based on things I made when I was super young, when no one was listening [to my music]. Like, I wrote ‘Blow’ when I was reading about different people in American history. One of the people happened to be [the serial killer] Ted Bundy, and I wrote a song from his point of view”.
Aside from the fact that he had been allowed into the UK less than two months previously without issue – even though the supposedly offending lyrics came from albums released four and six years ago – he added that the thing that particularly “irks” him “is that the paper saying I am denied entry to the UK clearly states that these songs were written from [the perspective of] an alter ego”
“Which means they obviously did some research on these songs that they’re detaining me for”, he went on. “So the argument is right there! This song is written from an alter ego – I’m not like this! You could watch any interview and see my personality, see the guy I am. I wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
