Last week Tyler, The Creator told fans that he had been banned from entering the UK by the Home Office.
Since then, a few more details have emerged on the case. The Home Office sent the rapper a letter, which detailed their reasons for barring his entry into the country:
"The home secretary has reached this decision because you have brought yourself within the scope of the list of unacceptable behaviour by making statements that may foster hatred, which might lead to intercommunity violence in the UK."
"Your albums 'Bastard', in 2009, and 'Goblin', in 2011, are based on the premise of your adopting a mentally unstable alter ego who describes violent physical abuse, rape and murder in graphic terms which appears to glamourise this behaviour."
Speaking to the Guardian, Tyler, The Creator offered a response. "Everyone is a follower, just following what other countries are doing," he said. "Now I’m getting treated like a terrorist…"
"The thing that irks me about it is that the paper saying I am denied entry to the UK clearly states that these songs were written from [the perspective of] an alter ego – which means they obviously did some research on these songs that they’re detaining me for. So the argument is right there!"
Turning to the topic of censorship, Tyler added: "What about the people who will make music in the next five years? Are they gonna get banned? Why don’t they ban authors? Writers who write these mystery books about people getting raped and sabotaged and murdered and brainwashed – why don’t they ban them? There are rallies of neo-Nazis in parts of England. And then you’re telling me I can’t come there because of some bullshit song, but you got motherfuckers with swastikas rallying down the street actually promoting hate?"
Concluding, the rapper warned that this censorship could spread across the arts. "This is only gonna open a door for other people to get banned. And then they’re gonna go after video games, and then they’re gonna go after movies, and we’re gonna live in such a sensitive world. It’s like the world is scared of everything. I feel like everyone is so sensitive to everything, and if they don’t like something it’s like: “Oh my God, I don’t like the colour yellow – let’s get yellow banned from every country, let’s sign a petition – let’s start a hashtag to make sure this colour is never seen, because I don’t like it and I don’t understand it."
Read the full interview HERE.
