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Tyler the Creator Performance Recap

Published

7 months ago

April 15, 2024

One 12 months after his onetime Odd Future collaborator Frank Ocean headlined the Coachella predominant stage on weekend one (to normal bafflement from the general public), Tyler, the Creator took a crack on the pageant’s Saturday headlining slot with a fierce, visually arresting efficiency of a few of his best-loved tracks.

All through the rapper’s roughly 80-minute efficiency, he held the assembled crowd within the palm of his hand because of a potent mixture of down-to-earth actual discuss, a liberal dousing of (sometimes racy) humor, passionate efficiency depth, hard-charging rap stream, eye-catching visuals and a bevy of particular shock friends.

For the efficiency, which rivaled Lana Del Rey‘s Friday set by way of theatricality, the primary stage was remodeled right into a desert vista, centered by a broken-down trailer flanked by two rocky hillsides — one topped by a inexperienced tent and adjoining signal that sarcastically learn, “NO CAMPING.” The projection behind the bodily set was a factor of ever-changing magnificence, internet hosting such arresting photographs as a desert rainstorm, an enormous silvery moon in opposition to a purple sky, a fiery hellscape and a sci-fi tableau full with flying saucer.

“Thanks for staying. I do know you all are drained [after] being right here all day, so thanks for staying to look at my drained ass up right here,” stated Tyler close to the start of his set. However the amped-up crowd was something however drained, energized by the rapper’s impassioned renditions of songs like “See You Once more,” “EARFQUAKE,” “NEW MAGIC WAND,” “WUSYANAME” and “RUNNING OUT OF TIME.”

The impassioned efficiency was marked by pyrotechnics in each the literal and figurative sense, as sparks flew not solely from the literal stage however between Tyler and his fiercely loyal followers, a lot of whom may very well be heard belting out the brainy rapper’s usually complicated lyrics proper together with him.

Take a look at all of the highlights from Tyler’s set beneath.

An Explosive Entrance

Following an introductory video that confirmed Tyler sporting a park ranger uniform and explaining how he’d given up his life as a music star to reside inside a camper, the rapper materialized onstage in a little bit of stage magic. In an explosion of spark and smoke, Tyler (sporting a harness) “crashed by way of” a wall of the trailer parked in its middle and flew by way of the air earlier than touchdown on stage, all whereas decked out in the identical ranger uniform seen within the video. It was an attention-grabbing entrance that properly set the barometer for the rest of his scorching, no-holds-barred efficiency.
Infantile Gambino Hits the Stage

The “This Is America” singer (a.ok.a. Donald Glover) grew to become the evening’s first particular visitor when he got here out to duet with Tyler on “Operating Out of Time,” a observe off the latter’s 2019 album IGOR. At one level, the 2 dipped and swayed round each other as they harmonized, with Tyler later explaining, “I used to hate that n—a. Critically. I don’t know why, I gotta go to remedy to determine it out.” He added, “however this n—a put this music referred to as ‘Urn’ out…I used to be at battle with myself, like…how may a n—a I hate a lot make one thing so good?” Clearly, that exact beef has been squashed.
About That Jerrod Carmichael Clip…

Early within the set, Tyler made some extent of addressing the elephant within the room: A newsmaking phase from HBO’s Jerrod Carmichael Actuality Present through which Carmichael revealed his unrequited crush on the rapper earlier than capturing a dialog between the 2 associates for the present to debate the second when Tyler rejected him. “I’m guessing y’all received TikTok and possibly seen my homie attempt to f— me on digital camera,” Tyler advised the gang. “I regarded horrible. I advised the n—a no and he stated, ‘What about if we filmed it?’ Horrible.”
A$AP Rocky Comes Out to Play

The rapper joined Tyler for the efficiency of two tracks — “Potato Salad” and “Who Dat Boy” — after which Tyler admitted that after upon a time, like Glover, he additionally thought-about A$AP a nemesis: “I used to hate that n—a too…we thought we had beef,” he started. However, he went on to clarify, “it was the n—as round us” that induced the problem — “after which me and Rock was like, we received love and now we associates.”
A Nod to How Far He is Come

In a single amongst many moments of candor throughout Saturday’s set, Tyler reminisced about his first efficiency at Coachella in 2011, as a part of the Odd Future collective. “It was horrible,” he described of the set — after which he and his bandmates have been famously booted from the pageant by safety for capturing Tremendous Soakers at different friends. Clearly, Coachella has forgiven him: Along with Saturday’s efficiency, Tyler was additionally invited again as a performer in 2015 and 2018.
Charlie Wilson Helps Begin a Muted ‘Earfquake’

The night’s least-known particular visitor, 71-year-old singer-songwriter Charlie Wilson, additionally simply so occurs to be one in every of its most lauded, with 13 complete Grammy nominations and a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, amongst different honors. For his cameo, Wilson joined Tyler on the piano (perched atop one of many on-set “mountains”) for a charmingly low-key model of “Earfquake.” Even in his transient look, the music veteran’s onstage chemistry along with his a lot youthful duet accomplice was palpable.
Kali Uchis Makes a Temporary Cameo

The rising singer emerged onstage for a quick look throughout Tyler’s efficiency of “See You Once more,” a single from his 2017 album Flower Boy, launched lengthy earlier than Uchis grew to become a star in her personal proper. Whereas it was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it second, it was one other welcome present of help from Tyler’s lengthy record of trade associates and collaborators.
A Windblown Exit

After warning that he had solely 4 minutes of efficiency time left earlier than Coachella’s 1 a.m. curfew on Saturday — a bit of stories that induced the gang to erupt right into a spherical of booing (“B—- don’t boo me…boo [Coachella founder] Paul [Tollett], he put this s— collectively,” he responded) — Tyler donned a harness as soon as extra for the grand finale, a gravity-defying efficiency of “NEW MAGIC WAND” that noticed him caught in a “windstorm” (a coming tempest hinted at earlier within the set) whereas clutching desperately at some onstage boulders. In a ultimate little bit of drama, the rapper soared swiftly off stage only a minute earlier than midnight — a beautiful little bit of stagecraft and a fittingly epic finish to the cinematic set.