Tyler, the Creator, who has run the Camp Flog Gnaw festival since 2012, expected the crowd at his Los Angeles festival to be elated when the surprise headliner of his event turned out to be Drake. He was greatly mistaken.
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When the multi-platinum hip-hop star hit the stage Sunday, the crowd erupted into boos.
In response to the boos at the rap concert, Drake leveled with the audience saying: “I’m here for you tonight. If you want to keep going, I will keep going. What’s up?”
Festival-goers responded with a boisterous "no," according to footage posted in a tweet by journalist Andres Tardio. Once Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, got his marching orders, he exited stage left, ending with "It's been love."
Tyler, the Creator responded to the audience's dismay with his own frustrated tweet Monday afternoon. He sent out a series of tweets chastising the audience's disrespect for Drake.
I THOUGHT BRINGING ONE OF THE BIGGEST ARTIST ON THE (expletive) PLANET TO A MUSIC FESTIVAL WAS FIRE! BUT FLIPSIDE, A LIL TONE DEAF KNOWING THE SPECIFIC CROWD IT DREW. SOME CREATED A NARRATIVE IN THEIR HEAD AND ACTED OUT LIKE (expletive) WHEN IT DIDNT COME TRUE." - Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, the Creator, the mastermind behind alternative hip-hop collective Odd Future, has been considered one of the premier innovators in hip-hop music, fashion and culture during the last several years. The two-day festival he founded represents that reputation, with this last weekend’s lineup including Blood Orange, Juice WRLD, H.E.R. Thundercat, Atlanta’s Summer Walker and 21 Savage.
According to USA Today, that spirit of alternative music champions was not represented by Drake’s presence. In fact, some of the audience members chanted “We want Frank.” Several fans had been circulating a rumor that the elusive singer/songwriter would be revealed as the “mystery headliner.” It would’ve been a huge get, since Ocean, who cemented his place in the music world with his “Channel Orange” LP in 2012, rarely appears at public concerts, awards shows or virtually anywhere his fans would be.
"Drake is a considerably more available entertainer than the reclusive Ocean. For the rapper to bound onstage thus not only disappointed Ocean's famously ravenous fans, but it also set up a clash of tastes. Tyler and Flog Gnaw's brand is colorful and punkish and opposed to all things serious. Drake's is chilly and commercial and calculated..." wrote The Atlantic writer Spencer Kornhaber. "For some Flog Gnaw attendees surely, Drake showing up was the equivalent of a popular jock crashing the art geeks' party and demanding to take over the AUX cord to put on Maroon 5."
Several Twitter users agreed with Kornhaber’s assessment of what went wrong Thursday.
Many on Twitter said they did not agree with the audience shaming Drake off stage. Some also pointed out that Ocean’s longtime fans would know he wouldn’t show up to the festival.
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