Following on from this morning’s news that a Liberal MP wants the “misogynistic” rapper out of the country and his tour cancelled, Tyler, The Creator’s Australian EarlWolf Tour, with Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All Associate Earl Sweatshirt, has been marred by further controversy.

The 22-year-old rapper was scheduled for an in-store appearance at Sydney street wear outlet Culture Kings at 12 noon today, but the event was shut down by police after thousands of fans bustling to get inside the clothing store, located on George Street.

The two-storey shop’s top and bottom floors were bursting with punters hoping to catch a glimpse of and possibly meet Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and OFWGKTA member Jasper Dolphin, while the queue stretched for two blocks outside.

“We were excited when Odd Future approached us about hosting an in-store,” representatives of Culture Kings told The Music“We’re big fans of their music and stock Odd Future Clothing in our stores.” The street wear retailers also apologised to disappointed fans, “we’re very sorry to the fans who didn’t get to meet Tyler and the guys before police shut it down.”

The rapper himself took to his Twitter to apologise fans for the police-enforced cancellation:

The EarlWolf tour checks into Sydney’s Enmore Theatre tonight (Thursday 6th June) for an all ages show, something that Alex Hawke, the Liberal member for Mitchell in North West Sydney is none too happy about.

“Allowing this man a visa to promote his misogyny to audiences, including children, is a complete disgrace and an absolute insult to all of us and to women in particular,” Minister Hawke told News.com.auThe Liberal member also accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of enacting double standards by allowing the  rapper a visa after she labelled Opposition Leader Tony Abbott a misogynist in late 2012.

“The Prime Minister said that she would call out misogyny whenever she saw it – we [were] all there. Prime Minister, I urge you… to seriously reconsider and review the visa granted to Tyler, The Creator under section 501—the character assessment test. All of us in his House should stop the spread of this vile message against women,” said Minister Hawke in the House of Representatives yesterday, according to The Music“We were excited when Odd Future approached us about hosting an in-store… we’re sorry to the fans who didn’t get to meet Tyler and the guys before police shut it down.” – Culture Kings, Sydney

“The grave concern I have is that this so-called ‘art’ promotes extreme violence against women, including murder, rape, genital mutilation and many other vile misogynist lyrics,” he added, referring to the content of Tyler, The Creator’s lyrics, which first drew major media attention in 2011 in a high-profile spat with Canadian musical siblings Tegan & Sara, who called out the rapper over his controversial themes, to which the Odd Future ringleader famously responded “If Tegan And Sara Need Some Hard Dick, Hit Me Up!”

Minister Hawke also took aim at Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor for not intervening to stop the Odd Future rapper from obtaining a visa. “Australia must be clear that we have a zero tolerance for these extreme acts of violence, and the government and the minister have power to take action against this sort of intolerance and those encouraging the dehumanisation of women.”

A spokesperson from Brendan O’Connors office said that Minister Hawke’s issues with Tyler, The Creator were personal and not a departmental issue. “The Minister does not agree with the offensive lyrics of this rapper,” a representative from Mr O’Connor’s office told News.com.au. “It is a condition of his visa that he must respect Australian law and not cause or threaten harm to individuals or the community, and that any such conduct may result in him having his visa cancelled.”

Melinda Liszewski from Collective Shout, an organisation that works against the sexualisation of women, is another detractor in the anti-Tyler camp, and her group want the EarlWolf all-ages show at Brisbane’s Eaton Hill banned. Liszewski says the city is “still raw” after the brutal rape and murder of Joan Ryther in Logan last month.

“I think many parents would be dropping their children to this event unaware that Tyler, the Creator’s songs contain lyrics like ‘Rape a pregnant b…. and tell my friends I had a threesome/ You got a f…ing death wish, I’m a genie it’ll get done’,” she says. “We’ve had people say, ‘Ah, they’re just lyrics, we’re not going to listen to his song and go out and rape and murder someone’ but there is a connection between misogynist violence, discriminatory speech, and the actual real world violence against women… It’s an incitement to violence and this sort of thing being seen as entertainment desensitises people to violence as well.”

Tyler, The Creator took to his Twitter to indirectly respond to the backlash over his current Australian visit, in a typically provocative post:

Tyler and Earl Sweatshirt are also due for another in-store at Culture Kings in Brisbane this Saturday at the Queen Street outlet in the CBD.

Much of the lyrical content that Tyler, The Creator is being criticised for is taken from his 2011 album Goblin, but in a recent interview with SPIN magazine the rapper said he had moved past his provocative period. “Talking about rape and cutting bodies up, it just doesn’t interest me anymore,” he said of his new studio album Wolf

“What interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to. WithWolf, I’ll brag a little more, talk about money and buying shit. But not like any other rapper, I’ll be a smart-ass about it,” he added.

Wolf finds the young MC dealing with deeper lyrical subject matter, such as dealing with the absence of his father on ‘Answer’, and the death of his grandmother on two numbers, ‘Jamba’, featuring Hodgy Beats, and closing track ‘Lone’.

“People who want the first album again, I can’t do that. I was 18, broke as fuck. On my third album, I have money and I’m hanging out with my idols. I can’t rap about the same shit,” defends the rapper.

Tyler, The Creator Official Culture Kings In-Stores

Culture Kings Sydney
Thursday 6 June @ 12 noon 420 Georget Street, Sydney CBD

Culture Kings Brisbane
Saturday 8 June @ 4.30pm 115 Queen Street, Brisbane CBD

Tyler, The Creator & Earl Sweatshirt 2013 EarlWolf Australian Tour Dates

Tickets go on sale 9am Tuesday, 7th May via frontiertouring.com/earlwolf

Tuesday 4th June – Capitol, Perth – 18+

Thursday 6th June – Enmore Theatre, Sydney – All Ages

Friday, 7th June – Palace Theatre, Melbourne – 18+

Saturday 8th June – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane – All Ages

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine