Los Angeles Hip-Hop outfit Odd Future tends to be polarizing when it comes to Rap fan opinion about their music, and apparently it applies to entire countries, too. The Tyler, The Creator headed crew has been banned from New Zealand.
According to the Associated Press, the Hip-Hop collective was banned by New Zealand immigration authorities because they “pose a threat to public order.”
Oh.
The group was scheduled to open for Eminem at a concert in Auckland on Saturday, February 15. However, the visas of six members were declined after the authorities caught wind of an incident in Boston in 2011 where Tyler allegedly incited fans to attack the police.
“It’s not a decision we take lightly and not one that happens often,” Border Operations Manager Karen Urwin told the AP.
Part of Immigration New Zealand’s official statement reads: “Odd Future has been deemed to be a potential threat to public order and the public interest for several reasons, including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence.”
Of coure, Tyler took to Twitter to vent his frustration with the situation.
“OF IS BANNED FROM NEW ZEALAND, AGAIN. THEY SAID WE WERE ‘TERRORIST THREATS AND BAD FOR THE SOCIETY’ OR WHATEVER. SICK. THEY ARE ANTI GOLF,” he tweeted yesterday (Feb. 12). “I LOVE NZ THO.”
—
Photo: Terry Richardson
