Tyler, The Creator has left no doubt about it — he is a full-fledged superstar.
In a set that lasted nearly two hours, the veteran rapper ran through all of the most popular songs of his decade-plus-long career.
“I’ve been doing this for 12 years, man,” Tyler told his fans in-between early-set songs. “Atlanta has always been one of the cities that showed so much love to me from day one — back when I thought doing the Tabernacle was a big deal.”
Atlanta’s historic Tabernacle venue, which sits in the heart of downtown Atlanta, has a capacity of 2,600 people. It’s where Tyler and his Odd Future collective screamed on microphones and raged for hours among a crowd of teens wearing snapbacks and “Golf” T-shirts, which is Tyler’s brand. Ten years to the day of Odd Future’s 2012 Tabernacle show on March 25, Tyler stopped by Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia, just outside Atlanta, on his Call Me If You Get Lost tour. Infinite Energy Arena holds a capacity of 13,000, as State Farm Arena, which holds 21,000, was booked the same night as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Golden State Warriors 121-110. State Farm Arena is where Tyler performed at on his last tour for Igor.
Tyler’s latest set is all connected by a boat.
He rode in a boat down the aisle as Call Me If You Get Lost single “WUSYANAME” blasted through the venue. The boat is exactly what sets Tyler apart from not only the rest of hip-hop but music. It’s a budget flex only an exclusive group of rappers can pull off. Drake had a floating Ferrari and the artist formerly known as Kanye West performed on a floating platform, but never a moving boat. Music-wise, the boat represents the transition from Tyler’s mainstream superstar Call Me If You Get Lost era to the years of working his way up in the industry.
The boat took him to a second stage, where he ran through a mini-set of the 2017 Flower Boy project and early career songs like classic hip-hop record “Yonkers,” “She” and “Bimmer.”
The California native not only mastered the art of set design but also audience engagement. On an extended outro of “See You Again,” Tyler freestyled about the Southern capital of the genre.
I’m riding down Peachtree, I’m somewhere in Buckhead
You know how the f— I get, I’m doing my thing
Shout-out to T.I., Ludacris and Gucci Mane
Cause where we at with it?
He then pointed the microphone toward the audience as the crowd responded with its legendary chant: ATL, h–!
DJ Drama, who hosted the Grammy-nominated Call Me If You Get Lost, and Gunna were among those who attended the show.
In addition to being on tour, Tyler’s “COME ON, LET’S GO” produced by Pharrell, featured on Nigo’s compilation album was released, where in the opening stanza, Tyler references a “Georgia peach” and the “ATL, h–!” chants.
He did his first live performance of the song on March 25.
