What a riot! Tyler, The Creator returns to Colorado

By Sonia Amodeo

Tyler, The Creator has quite the colorful history in Boulder.

Aside from awarding himself a key to the city of Boulder — through an elaborate staged video ceremony on March 11, 2013 — his free show at the Fox Theatre that night brought some unruly commotion to University Hill.

Boulder will get another dose of Tyler, The Creator on Wednesday, June 24, when he returns to the Fox, 1135 13th St., for a 9 p.m. show. The rapper also will perform at The Aggie Theatre, 204 South College Ave., in Fort Collins on Friday, June 25.

He has made Boulder a stop on his tour since his days as the leader and co-founder of hip-hop crew Odd Future, and he never seems to get sick of this town — nor has Boulder grown tired of him.

“I like Boulder,” said Tyler, 24. “It’s one of my favorite places ever. It’s a really cool city, very low-key and has nice weather.”

And in his cheeky sense of humor, he declared, “I’m from here, born and raised.”

The rapper is actually a product of California. But fans in Boulder would seemingly happily adopt the generational icon as their own.

“Tyler puts stuff out there without censoring anything, and it just appeals to this generation. It’s stuff we have to deal with,” said Mikkey Barnett, 25, of Boulder. “He knows what our generation wants and strives for. And he jokes about all these things that offend people.”

Tyler’s music has deep and dark themes, hung upon strings of expletives and bass beats. He has created an image for himself with his profanity, controversial lyrics and “trolling” tweets. Yet he keeps this persona rolling, impervious to judgment, all while creating dance-worthy beats.

Tyler said he’s not sure why fans flock to him, but Boulder seems to know — he has developed quite a loyal following in town.

“I look for rap music that I can relate to,” Barnett said. “As you get deeper into his music, you can start to feel where he’s coming from.”

Although Tyler said his “free-spirited music, influenced by gospel” might contain obscenities the gospel decries, his style evokes a sense of emotive freedom.

Along with his music, Tyler is known to garner attention for the behavior of rowdy fans. At South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March 2014, the artist was arrested for inciting a riot at the music festival, according to Austin Police Department reports.

The 2013 free, all-ages show in Boulder had more than 80 local police quelling what local authorities dubbed a “riot situation” after violence erupted. The crowd of fans swarmed outside the Fox in hopes of attending the show — which was a first-come, first-served basis. A Jimmy John’s manager, who declined to be identified, said he was trying to clear a way into his store as people massed outside when an intoxicated fan punched him in the face, then ran off, according to a Daily Camera report.

So, those who didn’t know his name in Boulder before, suddenly did. Since the Hill unrest, the rapper has been back in town, sans drama. And this time, Fox show attendees can expect the same high-energy performance and warm fan reception as usual.

“Tyler’s really excited,” said Jamie Clark, Tyler’s tour manager. “He loves Colorado a lot, and all those shows are really hyped. I’ve seen replays of those shows, and they look sick.”

But Tyler doesn’t seem to psych himself out too much.

“I just go in and do what I got to do,” he said.