CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
Now there’s something you don’t see every day, or ever. Canadian rap and R&B Star Drake and debatably the most famous rapper on Earth was boo’d off stage as he performed at Camp Flog Gnaw 2019 as fans were expecting Frank Ocean.
Camp Flog Gnaw is Tyler, The Creator’s festival he’s put on for the past 5 years where he invites his good friends and favorite artists to perform. This includes former Odd Future artists like Earl Sweatshirt and Taco along with contemporary heavy hitters like Da Baby, 21 Savage, and JuiceWRLD.
For the first time this year, Tyler had “surprise” guests added to the lineup. Prior to the event, fans speculated that the surprise guest was reclusive superstar Frank Ocean. Tyler and Frank are good friends and frequent collaborators and former members of the musical collective Odd Future.
Rumors turned into expectations as the show crept closer and closer to the headliner. Tyler brought out three surprise guests that included A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, and Drake. Drake was the headliner and as he appeared he received a less-than-warm welcome as fans were disappointed that Frank wasn’t going to perform.
Fans cheered “we want Frank” before the Canadian rapper took the stage and started booing as he performed. The rapper clearly felt the animosity and addressed the crowd after his second song.
“Flog Gnaw make some noise for yourself tonight” The rapper told the crowd.
“You know, imma tell you. Like I said, I’m here for you tonight, if you want to keep going imma keep going tonight.” The crowd responded with boos and jeers.
Drake, always the consummate professional, graciously bowed out of the concert. “Well look, it’s been love, I love ya’ll, I go by the name of Drake thank ya’ll for having me.”
It was a bizarre turn of events for the festival. Drake hasn’t received such a hostile crowd reaction since the start of his career. He’s recognized as one of the most celebrated and beloved rappers in the world right now.
Fans learned yet again that Frank Ocean only shows up when he wants and always when he is least expected.
You can watch the full clip below:
The crowd continued cheering and calling for Frank Ocean after Drake left but his performance marked the end of the show. The words “Thanks for Coming” appeared on the big screen as fans filed out.
Tyler, The Creator spoke about the incident on Twitter where he called the move to bring out Drake “a lil tone deaf”.
I THOUGHT BRINGING ONE OF THE BIGGEST ARTIST ON THE FUCKING PLANET TO A MUSIC FESTIVAL WAS FIRE! BUT FLIPSIDE, A LIL TONE DEAF KNOWING THE SPECIFIC CROWD IT DREW. SOME CREATED A NARRATIVE IN THEIR HEAD AND ACTED OUT LIKE ASSHOLES WHEN IT DIDNT COME TRUE AND I DONT FUCK WITH THAT
AGAIN, THANK YOU DRAKE! ( IM FUCKING PISSED HOTLINE BLING WAS NEXT THATS MY FUCKING SHIT IM GONNA PLAY THAT IN THE SHOWER RIGHT NOW) <3
THIS NIGGA DID FEEL NO WAYS! SONG IS BEAUTIFUL. ALSO, MOSTLY EVERYONE WAS HAVING A GREAT TIME, THOSE SHITS IN THE FRONT AREA WERE THE ONES BEING MAD RUDE, WHICH, I CAN SEE WHY, BUT, NAH, FUCK THAT, YALL REPRESENTED ME AND FLOG TO MY GUEST AND MADE US LOOK SOOO ENTITLED AND TRASH
THAT SHIT WAS LIKE MOB MENTALITY AND CANCEL CULTURE IN REAL LIFE AND I THINK THAT SHIT IS FUCKING TRASH
NIGGA DID FEEL NO WAYS! THAT SONG IS BEAUTIFUL! MOST GUYS DONT DO ALBUM CUTS! THANK YOU AUBREY!
BUT HEY MAN SHIT HAPPENS, ALL JOKES ASIDE SHIT LOWKEY FUNNY HAHAHA, ASIDE FROM THAT, HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GOOD TIME. AGAIN, NO ARREST NO BULLSHIT MAN A LOT OF PEOPLE ENJOYED IT, THANKS AGAIN!
OK LAST TWEET, I WAS IN THE FRONT, AND I HEAR “TYLLLERRRR!” AND I LOOK TO MY LEFT, AND THIS GIRL, RED FACE, PUFFY, WATERFALL OF TEARS LOOKED INTO MY SOUL AND SAID, TREMBLING WITH ANGER “…WHAT ..THE ..FUCK!………IS THIS SHIT!” NIGGA I TURNED AWAY SO QUICK SHE WAS PISSED BRO
Tyler also blamed the fans for “creating a narrative in their head” about Frank Ocean’s appearance. He was upset that the crowd pushed him out early as “Hotline Bling” was the next song up.
The Crowd Was Expecting Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean has been rumored to be at every Camp Flog Gnaw festival for the past 5 years and has yet to show up. For some reason, this year fans were convinced that he was going to show up.
It may have been the mysterious lineup with the big “????” where the headliner should be. Or because Frank has been releasing new songs on a weekly basis and holding PrEP+ events, or his new episodes of Blonded Radio. Whenever Frank pops up in the public eye, fans start speculating on when his next album is coming out or what concert he may be performing at.
Even Tyler was subject to the crowd’s disappointment as he stood in the crowd trying to enjoy the show. A fan uploaded a video to the r/frankocean subreddit that shows a fan asking Tyler “Where’s Frank?” during Drake’s set.
The long-running joke has turned into a meme and it seemed fans had accepted that Frank wouldn’t show up. But as the footage shows, people truly believed this year that the singer was going to show up. One Reddit user who attended the event said that the disappointment wasn’t all because Frank didn’t come out, some of it had to do with the confusion at the structure of the concert.
Tyler comes back out, says can I bring out another friend? Crowd gets hype and Lil Uzi Vert comes out, plays two songs and dips. Tyler does it again, this time drake comes out. Drake plays a song, says Tyler wanted me for one or two songs but I can play some more if you want. Plays like 5 songs and people are hype but he keeps like alluding to almost being done so people don’t know if he was the final person or what? He then says he has 2 more songs and people are like cool there’s still a half hour that means more performances. He finishes the two songs and says do you guys want more? And everyone was like uhh maybe? Like no one knew what was happening.
Apparently, fans were excited at first but turned sour once Drake played more than 2 songs. They were expecting Frank to come out last and slowly realized that probably wasn’t happening. “People were hyped when he first came out, and shocked, too,” Event attendee Alejandro Cruz explained to Complex. “Because no one was really expecting Drake to be there.”
“There was a lot of back and forth up front, between people wanting Drake on stage and people screaming ‘Frank!’” Adam Gonzales told Complex. “I still remember a random girl yelling, ‘Frank is in New York. Stop yelling for him, you’re gonna ruin it.’”
“He kept saying, ‘This is my last song,’ and it wasn’t. It kept this feeling that there was another person coming. If he had just performed without trying to hype the crowd up, no one would’ve been upset. And even then, no one was upset. It was just disappointment.”
“I think it would have happened to anyone that came out and wasn’t Frank,” Gonzalez says. “I really don’t feel the crowd had a vendetta towards Drake.”
Drake smiled as he walked off the stage which marked the end of the concert.
Outside Fans are Angry That Drake Was Boo’d
If you’re still confused as to why Drake was boo’d, you’re not alone. Most fans who didn’t attend the festival were appalled that a surprise set by Drake was met with boos.
“No telling if Drake finished his set or not, but he handled it like a pro. I’ve never seen a crowd take their disappointment out on the performer like this.” Said one used on Twitter. There were also several memes posted comparing the crowd to clowns and hilarious reaction videos.
camp flog gnaw crowd after expecting frank for no reason, booing off drake, cutting set short
People at flog gnaw when drake came out
the audience seein drake at camp flog gnaw
According to DJ Akademiks, Drake told him that the booing was a “moment of humility which is always welcomed”. He also added “was just not my night. Wasn’t who they wanted to see”.
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