Kanye West Makes Surprise Appearance at Odd Future Carnival

The rapper joined Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweartshirt on stage in downtown Los Angeles. 

Odd Future’s legion of fans showed up to the Los Angeles Coliseum in full force for the second annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival held yesterday, Nov. 9. Complete with an OF-branded Ferris wheel towering over a handful of other carnival rides, a skate park hidden under an overpass, and a festival-sized stage, the California-based crew entertained 2,000 or so of its closest friends.

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With performances running from 2pm - 11pm, the 45 minute line wrapping around the coliseum grounds wasn’t bad at all. Odd Future’s Mike G, The Internet and Earl Sweatshirt got the crowd moving in the daylight hours while Schoolboy Q and Flying Lotus transitioned the celebration into the dark. Lotus particularly got things going with a rave-like set of his own hits mixed in with hard-hitting electronic remixes of cuts such as Rick Ross’ “Hold Me Back.” His equipment was set up behind a giant, see-through screen portraying awe-inspiring visuals set to the music. He only stepped out from behind it three times to rock the mic.

Mac Miller turned the crowd up with a highly-energetic set running through his “Watching Movies with the Sound Off” and “Blue Slide Park” hits. Additionally, he created an intimate feeling by playing fan-favorite cuts that aren’t even his! He brought out Earl Sweatshirt for a fun rendition of Cam’Ron’s “Hey Ma,” and then went on to plays Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” to which the crowd sang every word.

In his traditional Vans, knee high socks, shorts and baseball cap -- the uniform for the majority of teenagers attending the all-age affair -- Tyler, The Creator took the stage next. He played standouts from “Bastard,” “Goblin” and “Wolf” set to a moving blue sky background reminiscent of Drake’s “Nothing was the Same” cover, except for when it would turn red during the ominous parts of his songs. The visual played really well with Tyler’s affinity to jump from light-hearted fun material to dark, menacing subjects.

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Tyler treated the crowd to the original version of “Colossus,” featuring a much jazzier, lighter feel than the one that made “Goblin.” This would have been surprise enough until the beat for Kanye West’s “New Slaves” started up and an inspired West walked out on stage ripping through the hard-hitting lyrics. The crowd exploded in delight and pushed up to get a better look at the Yeezus rapper.

“I am a fucking fan of Kanye West,” gushed Tyler following the song. And with Kanye having agreed to play the Odd Future frontman’s favorite song “Late” off of Late Registration, Tyler exclaimed, “Can I have a hug, first? I am so fucking happy.” He couldn’t hold his excitement as he helped Kanye through most of the song as Yeezy hadn’t “performed this in like six years.” He also stayed onstage as the crew bounced back and forth for Tyler’s closer “Tamale.”

Frank Ocean closed out the carnival with very crisp renditions of songs off Nostalgia, Ultra and Channel Orange. With his voice working at 100 percent and the crowd reeling from the day’s excitement, Ocean captured the event in one short phrase,” I’m feeling all the vibes tonight, I’m feeling all your vibes.”
This story first appeared on Billboard.com.