Controversial rapper Tyler, the Creator has taken to Twitter to explain the reason for the cancellation of a recent spate of gigs in the UK and Ireland.
The 24-year-old American rapper - real name Tyler Okonma - was due to play Dublin's Academy last night, as well as dates in the UK including Reading and Leeds this weekend - but says that he has been banned from entering the UK (but not Ireland) because of lyrics from 2009.
In 2009, he self-released his solo debut album 'Bastard'.
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.
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 26, 2015
*listens to last three releases in confusion*
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 26, 2015
His manager released a statement, saying "Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between 3 to 5 years per a letter from the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the United Kingdom. Highlights from the letter include that his work 'encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality' and 'fosters hatred with views thats seek to provoke others to terrorist acts'". He went on to claim that his free speech was being impinged and that he had been in the UK over 20 times in the last few years, without incident.
"Is he perfect? absolutely not. he’s a human evolving like the rest of us, and evolution is a process, not a light switch," he added.
"im not defending his OLD lyrics. to be honest they make me cringe, but i stand beside him because of who he actually IS. our 8 year old daughter, who is constantly inspired by him, said it best; "why would they ban tyler? that makes no sense.“
The full statement can be read here.
The rapper also claimed that he had been banned from Australia several weeks ago, although that was later proven not to be the case. His gigs in the country were, however, targeted by various activist groups who launched a petition urging the country's Immigration Officer to deny the rapper a visa.
Last year, he was also banned from entering New Zealand.
