Odd Future Denied Entry Into New Zealand
Odd Future were supposed to play New Zealand's Rapture hip hop festival this weekend, but they've been forced off the bill thanks to NZ customs denying them entry into the country. According to Border Operations Manager Karen Urwin, six members of Odd Future were denied visas because the group poses a threat to public order.
Urwin said that the decision stems from a 2011 incident in Boston in which police were called to control the crowd at an event at a Newbury Comics. But several groups inside New Zealand have lobbied the government to ban the rappers from playing there, including a sexual violence advocacy organization called Stop Demand. In 2012, Odd Future was scheduled to play at Big Day Out Festival but had their set canceled after protests.
The, well, odd aspect of New Zealand's decision to bar Tyler and friends from entering the country is that Rapture is being headlined by Eminem, whose grisly fantasies birthed much of Odd Future's art. But then again, a lot of bureaucratic decisions don't really make much sense.
Here's Tyler's comment on the matter:
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