Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival is a music festival and carnival presented by rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator, whose full name is Tyler Okonma.
The name “Camp Flog Gnaw” is a mash-up of Tyler, the Creator’s signature phrases. “Flog Gnaw” is “Golf Wang” in reverse, which is the name of Okonma’s clothing and accessory brand. “Golf Wang” is a take on “Wolf Gang” – with the first letters of each word interchanged – which is an homage to the music collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future, of which Okonma is a founding member.
Camp Flog Gnaw, originally named the OFWGKTA Carnival, was first held at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, which is now known as The Novo, in 2012. The festival took place each year after, migrating to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in 2013, Exposition Park in 2016 and finally landing at Dodger Stadium in 2018.
The festival took place at Dodger Stadium two years in a row, but was unable to return in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s festival was the first in four years since the initial discontinuation due to the pandemic.
Fans were eager to attend the return of Camp Flog Gnaw this year. Tickets were sold out in under two hours, despite the official lineup for the festival not yet having been released.
At the beginning of his set at the festival, Tyler, the Creator shared some sentiments with the crowd.
“We just put the presale out, and we’re like, ‘let’s just see how it goes before we announce who we got,’” Okonma explained.
The musician went on to express that he and his team were shocked that the tickets sold out so quickly, and that they are extremely grateful for the support from fans despite the festival’s four-year hiatus.
Andres Garcia, a Moorpark College alum, shared his thoughts after attending the festival.
“It was a good time overall, with good performances and energy,” Garcia stated. “The biggest issue I had was with the merchandise line, which I thought was poorly handled. I waited in line for three hours and had to miss three performances.”
The only merchandise tent at the festival was located outside of the venue and was not large enough to accommodate the number of people willing to purchase items. This caused issues for many attendees, but there is hope that the problem will be resolved before the next event.
“This was my first time at the festival, but I don’t think it’ll be my last,” Garcia continued. “For the price I paid, I’d say it was worth it. Definitely will be going back next year.”
Despite some hiccups in the organization of the festival, Camp Flog Gnaw was as exciting as ever with performances by Tyler, the Creator, SZA, Rex Orange County, Ice Spice, Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem as The Hillbillies, and many more.
Tyler, the Creator was extremely grateful to fans for attending his festival.
“To know that this random idea I had, that it brings the spirit of LA up for two days…” Okonma expressed. “I say this with every bone in my body… thank you all.”
The return of Camp Flog Gnaw to Dodger Stadium was a success, and fans are eagerly awaiting the announcement of next year’s festival in order to resume the excitement.
