New Zealand Lifts Ban On Tyler, The Creator In Time For Festivals

Courtesy of Firefly Music Festival – Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, the Creator dances the night away in a neon yellow suit on Friday, June 21 at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Del.

New Zealand has lifted its ban on Tyler, The Creator. After playing the country on the Big Day Out festival in 2012, he discovered he was refused a visa in 2014 to join Eminem’s “Rapture” show an hour before his flight from the U.S.

Concerns were his group Odd Future’s lyrics were “homophobic and racist. They glorify rape and murder fantasies, as well as cannibalism and necrophilia.” Two fan petitions to “un-ban” the act were unsuccessful.

Immigration NZ announced Aug. 2 it was “satisfied that Mr (Tyler) Okonma is no longer deemed to be a potential threat to public order and the public interest.” He will headline Bay Dreams in Bay Park Arena in Mount Maunganui Jan. 2 and Trafalgar Park in Nelson Jan. 4 to a crowd of 55,000.

The bill includes Halsey, Yelawolf, Ella Mai and Skepta. On “Smuckers” from his Cherry Bomb album, Tyler hit back, “I got banned from New Zealand / Whitey called me demon / And a terrorist / God dammit I couldn’t believe it.”

Bay Dreams co-promoter Pato Alvarez said the recent lifting of the act’s ban in the UK “helped our negotiations.”