Tyler, the Creator encourages riot-like behavior at SXSW show

Reporter|March 20, 2014

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Tyler, the Creator was arrested recently for “inciting a riot” during his performance at SXSW.

On March 13, Tyler, the Creator performed three times at SXSW. My good friend DJ 2ntenz and I managed to get into the first concert and catch some exclusive content. This is the concert that almost turned into a “riot” according to Spin magazine.

This is what happened: Tyler started his concert a little after 5 p.m., and people were still trying to get in. Apparently, the wrong beat came on and Tyler told them to restart. The area was then closed off because it had been “filled to capacity” within a few minutes.

Then, Tyler called for everyone outside the concert to run inside to see him by pushing through the doors which security had already closed. If you watch my footage above, you can see in the beginning that they were attempting to close the doors, but there were too many of us pushing at one time for them to close us off. After a couple hundred extra people flooded the area, the door was closed and locked and the remaining fans that tried to get in had to watch from outside the gate, behind the remainder of the crowd.

In the process, Tyler pissed off the staff and more specifically, the sound man who turned Tyler’s mic off for a few minutes before turning it back on to let Tyler finish his set. One of the main reasons Tyler was allowed to perform was because the staff feared the crowd would actually riot and destroy more of the surrounding area.

Tyler continued to perform a few of his most well-known songs such as “Tron Cat,” “Bimmer” and “IFHY.” After about 30 minutes, Tyler finished his set and said goodbye to the audience and apologized to the staff of the Converse/Thrasher “Death Match.” The staff responded to Tyler by flicking him off.

In all honesty, it was pretty epic. Was it irresponsible of Tyler to call all of us in? Sure, but is it comparable to the drunk driver who killed three people and injured 23 others? Hell no. He just wanted his fans to see him, even though it was not necessarily the best method. A few days later, Tyler was arrested for “inciting a riot” and was released on a $25,000 bond.