Drake’s Surprise Performance at Camp Flog Gnaw
Drake surprised fans on November 10 as the secret headliner at Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Festival in LA, and the rapper experienced his own surprise as he was booed off the stage by furious fans who expected Frank Ocean to be the mystery guest.
Normally, one would think that Drake, 33-year-old Canadian rapper who is often regarded as one of the most influential rappers of the decade, would receive high acclamation for surprising fans at the LA-based festival and carnival. However, rumors were circulating that Frank Ocean, a longtime friend of Tyler who came out with new music recently and has not performed live in over two years, would make his performance comeback that night. Though Tyler never confirmed the speculation, people were less than pleased when Drake was introduced instead.
The crowd did seem enthusiastic when Drake first hit the stage, but things quickly de-escalated as time went on. In a clip posted on Twitter, Drake can be heard saying, “Like I said, I’m here for you. If you want me to keep going, I’ll keep going.” In response, fans booed and shouted “no!”, and Drake then said, “It’s been love. I go by the name of Drake. Thank y’all for having me,” before leaving the stage. After he left, fans began to chant, “We want Frank!”
According to another video posted to social media, the crowd faced even more disappointment upon realizing that there was no act following Drake’s set, which seems to have ended early.
Fans on Twitter had differing reactions to the Camp Flog Gnaw drama. Some users felt that the festival audience should have been more grateful that Tyler brought Drake to the festival, while others were entertained by the chart-topping rapper’s humiliation by creating memes.
One fan wrote, “DRAKE WAS F–ING LIT THANK YOU @tylerthecreator and F*** YOU to all the fans that booed Drake off. Bunch of ungrateful f–s ruined it not only for myself, but I’m sure for Drake and Tyler also because that man didn’t even say bye and thanks like he always does.”
Tyler expectedly had a similar reaction, as he tweeted, “I THOUGHT BRINGING ONE OF THE BIGGEST ARTIST ON THE F–ING 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 A–HOLES WHEN IT DIDNT COME TRUE AND I DONT F–K WITH THAT.”
Drake even responded a few days after the incident on Instagram. He seemed to have taken it well, joking, “Plot twist…just signed a 10 year residency at Camp Flog Gnaw sorry kids see you EVERY SINGLE YEAR till you are 30.”
