Tyler, The Creator returned to London this week for a three-day residency at Greenwich’s O2 Arena as part of his first tour in the country for six years. Previously thwarted by both a ban from entering the country (due to lyricism) and the COVID-19 pandemic, the arena was completely packed with fans old and new. With 99 shows announced, the Chromakopia Tour is by far the rapper’s biggest to date and fortifies him as one of the most desired live performers in his genre.
Attending twice (due to a mishap when buying tickets, but I’m not complaining!), I had a Golden Circle standing ticket on Monday and a seated ticket on Wednesday. I arrived early on the first day and ended up in the first few hundred people in the queue. Tyler’s fans are known to be fun, friendly and fashionable, which they most definitely were. The queue was a sea of green, with attendees dressed head-to-toe in Chromakopia merch and Tyler’s unique fashion style. After playing a couple games of Uno with strangers whilst waiting, the gates opened and I entered the arena, moving swiftly to secure myself a good spot for the support artists. On Wednesday I started out in a very high-up seat but managed to weasel my way into the general admission pit by the time the openers had begun.
LA-based rap duo Paris Texas performed nine songs in their 30-minute set, both from past albums and this year’s two surprise EPs. I’ve been meaning to see the pair for quite some time now, and their energy on-stage did not disappoint. Involving the crowd by teaching them easy hooks in songs like ‘Sean-Jared’, members Louis Pastel and Felix built plenty of energy and encouraged moshpits over DJ Ankle Sandwich’s instrumentals. Sadly, ‘Full English’ was not played, which is about London (but the duo implored the crowd to go and listen after the concert). Despite this, by the time Paris Texas played ‘FORCE OF HABIT’ toward the end of their set they had proved that they are in fact a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the quality of their live performance.
After a 15-minute break, Lil Yachty took to the stage to the glittering vocals of ‘the BLACK seminole.’ Despite such an entrance, the vast majority of the rapper’s performance consisted of his iconic bubblegum-trap songs. I have to say, I’ve never seen moshpits as big as the ones that opened during his set, spanning the greater part of the arena’s diameter. Some standouts from his set included ‘Strike (Holster)’ and ‘Broccoli’, although perhaps that’s biased as I know all the words to both of the songs! Though Yachty’s performance was good fun, it was nowhere near as good as his performance on the Field Trip tour almost exactly a year before in 2024. He was also alone this time (he previously toured with an all-female band) and thus performed far fewer songs from Let’s Start Here, undoubtedly his best album. What he lacked in vocals and accompaniment however, Lil Yachty more than made up for in good vibes and stage presence.
The main stage (both support artists had performed on the B-stage in the centre of the arena) consisted of a wall of green crates, embellished with the Chromakopia logo. The intro vocals to ‘St. Chroma’ began and the mid-tier of crates began to rise, revealing a marching Tyler behind. He marched forwards onto a protruding crate that extended a few feet into the audience, making those at the very front crane their necks to get a good view. Here, he performed songs from the new album, complete with dazzling lights and pyro. This man’s stage presence cannot be underestimated. He first presented himself to the crowd in the guise of his latest alter-ego, clad in a green military dress uniform accompanied by an upper-face mask and an outrageous hairpiece. After five or so songs, a catwalk lowered from the ceiling of the venue and Tyler climbed up, making his way across above the crowd as he performed ‘Sticky’. At the end of this song he rained dollar notes down on the audience who fought to catch one (I somehow ended up with four). The view was spectacular for this section of the show from the Golden Circle, but was a little obscured by taller heads from general admission as it was quite far in the distance.
After traversing the catwalk, Tyler ended up at the B stage, which was situated directly between the Golden Circle and general admission areas. A previously somewhat obstructed view for the general admission crowd was now just as good as the view from the front pits. This stage was decorated to look like a living room, with a small and intimate feel despite the fact 25,000 people were in the room. Here, songs from Igor, Goblin, Wolf and Call Me If You Get Lost (including ‘DOGTOOTH’ and ‘SORRY NOT SORRY’ from the Estate Sale deluxe) were performed. Playing an eclectic mix of shortened versions of songs from across his catalogue, the crowd was at its loudest at this point in the set. Between songs, Tyler was funny and genuine - any crowd interactions were completely random and unscripted which made the connection between artist and audience feel friendly and sincere.
Climbing back onto the catwalk to perform ‘Who Dat Boy’, Tyler made his way back to the main stage. On Wednesday I took this opportunity to find myself a good seat near the front in order to get a good view of the end of the show. The final segment included hits ‘See You Again’ and ‘NEW MAGIC WAND’ (yes, tears were shed). The end of ‘Like Him’ featured a wall of sparks radiating down from the roof of the rear of the stage. This segment of the show was short but sweet - a perfect outro to a perfect concert.
I’ve seen hundreds of artists live across a plethora of genres, and very few have come as close to achieving the brilliance of a Tyler, The Creator concert. The vocals were en pointe, the visuals were stunning and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. Whilst other popular artists in the genre may let you down in a live format, Tyler manages to curate a perfect experience for his audience without fail. I went home feeling more content than I have done in a long while.