For the last 8 years, All Points East have shut down Victoria Park and this year they had a little bit of help with their lineup from rap icon and founder of Camp Flog Gnaw, Tyler, the Creator who took over Friday and Saturday to showcase some of his favourite artists from up and coming stars to certified legends.
On the final bank holiday weekend of the year, All Points East and Tyler, the Creator grabbed some of the most incredible acts to see off the season with a lineup including Clipse, Vince Staples, Zack Fox, Rex Orange County, Mariah the Scientist and the man of the hour, Tyler, the Creator.
First up was Yebba at the West Stage, the crowd enthralled by her soulful vocals, a calm which was immediately interrupted by rapture from the crowd as she treats us to ‘Yebba’s Heartbreak’, the track dedicated to her and performed by her from Drake’s 2021 album Certified Lover Boy.
The festival also hosted bbtrickz’ first ever London show with the party spilling off of the stage and into the crowd on the X Stage, her light pop rap with drill influences getting the crowd into perfect festival mood.
Everyone knew the moment Clipse hit the stage as the loitering crowd turned quickly into a current pulling us back to the West Stage. The brothers did not miss a beat, performing multiple tracks from their 5 time Grammy nominated album Let God Sort ‘Em Out as well as a few crowd favourites like their 2002 certified tune, ‘Grindin’.
Up until this point, the crowd was a solid 5/10 on energy but Sexyy Red switched the aura of the whole festival. The North Stage was heaving with people screaming ‘Get It Sexyy’, her stage adorned with dancers hyping both her and the crowd. This felt like the kind of parties you get FOMO about, ass shaking, speaker thumping, packed to the roof with carefree good vibes, the kind that make you want to grab the most attractive person you can see and dance with (or on) them.
Just as it started to rain and people started to run for cover, Zack Fox coaxed us all out of hiding and into the open at the X Stage for a DJ set celebrating Black America with Detroit techno, house, Jersey club, Chicago footwork and Ghetto tech, turning his corner of Victoria Park into a club of his own making, turning the dirt to dancefloor with the crowd yelling Tag Team’s classic ‘Whoomp! (There It Is)’ over the rest of his set long after the song had ended. Zack says his goodbyes and pops back out on the mic with an ‘Apparently I got 10 more minutes’ and the party resumes, even after the rain has stopped, we’re all still getting down.
Last but definitely not least, we get our headliner, Tyler, the Creator who creates an atmosphere before the music even begins with uniformly dressed stage hands appearing to attend the stage which is set up to look like the Underground, ‘Victoria Park’ lit up above the crowd. Finally, he bursts on stage atop the train carriage to ‘Big Poe’ giving the whole crowd a second wind, pyrotechnics exploding around him.
Throughout the show, Tyler reminds everyone the stark difference between going to a live show and getting caught in moshpits, reminding us of his beginnings at XL Records, a London-based label where he was label mates with Adele and making the whole crowd boo him because as he puts it ‘I love being booed’.
Over the hour and a half show, he carries us through his long career, starting with Don’t Tap the Glass and Chromakopia from his two most recent projects to Goblin’s ‘She’ (sadly, no Frank Ocean appearance), Wolf’s ‘IFHY’, IGOR’s ‘Earfquake’, Call Me If You Get Lost’s ‘Lumberjack’ and sending us off to ‘See You Again’ leaving the whole crowd feeling light.
As it approaches its 10 year anniversary, All Points East has proven its own staying power within London’s burgeoning festival scene and we can only hope that this takeover is a step closer to getting a London Camp Flog Gnaw Fest next year.
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Words: Cleopatra Bailey
Photography: Tyler, The Creator by Khali Ackford, Sexyy Red by Ben Awin