6th Annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival
Tyler, the Creator, born Tyler Gregory Okonma, hosted the sixth annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, a music festival and carnival that left it's mark on the rap, hip-hop and jazz music scene, from Oct. 28-29, 2017.
People of all ages and backgrounds walked through the visually stimulating festival, from those who have been listening to Tyler since his first passionate album "Yonkers", to more recent fans of his newer, more jazzy album "Flower Boy." Many attendees wore the bright pastels of Tyler's official Golf Wang clothing line, conveniently set up in a large green tent by the "Gnaw" stage at the center of the carnival.
The infamous carnival first started in 2012 and was originally called The OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) Carnival, which featured The Internet. The carnival was a 1-day affair until 2016, when Tyler expanded his lineup with top-of-the-chart artists A$AP Rocky and Lil' Wayne.
Saturday's headliners included 6LACK, Syd (whose other band The Internet headlined on Sunday), Mac Miller, Migos, Tyler, the Creator, and Lana del Rey to close the evening.
The "special guest" this year performed before most headliners and, just like last year, was underwhelming compared to other headliners. Anxious fans predicted that Frank Ocean, part of the original Odd Future gang, would perform as a special guest seeing as the 28th marked the artist's 30th birthday.
However, attendees were in for an "odd" surprise when Mac Demarco, a long time friend of Tyler, the Creator, took to the stage with his unique vocals and instrumentals, accompanied by fans on stage taking selfies with him. Whether the selfie taking fans were part of the set or not remains unknown.
Saturday night closed with Lana del Rey serenading attendees with her alluring voice, lulling the crowd with multiple songs from her new album "Lust for Life."
The colorful carnival rides and greasily delicious carnival food, hand picked by the Odd Future gang, was up and cooking again Sunday afternoon for the last day of the music festival. Festival attendees dressed in Halloween costumes lined up to see Taco DJ at the main stage with his own surprise guests YG and Ty Dolla Sign. Their exciting appearance set the mood for the rest of the evening.
After The Internet temporarily softened the mood with jazzy trip-hop, the crowd gained momentum in palpable anticipation for the headliner that performed the most "lit" set of the festival. Arriving six minutes after he was set to arrive, the audience began chanting "A$AP!" repeatedly until the screen went black. The crowd went wild and caused the most eventful scene for security at the festival.
Water bottles were handed to attendees who were squeezed in by the sea of people. The crowd roughened up the space to start large circles of mosh pits encouraged by artist A$AP Rocky. Security frequently plucked out fans out of the pit due to them passing out. The evening ended with 2Chainz, Kid Cudi and Solange, who Tyler later tweeted was his favorite set.