Kanye “Ye” West’s return to reside efficiency is off to a rocky begin. The errant rapper, producer and mogul’s live performance in Shanghai, China on Friday night time was beset by technical issues, horrible climate and hundreds of individuals chanting for a refund after he started the present over 40 minutes late.
Ye, who not often performs reside lately resulting from an ongoing battle to seek out keen live performance companions not turned off by his many swirling controversies, returned to China final week after conducting a profitable and extremely viral listening occasion on the Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou, Hainan Province in September 2024. His hotly anticipated gig at Shanghai Stadium, deliberate in help of his forthcoming album Bully, was offered out inside minutes, based on native studies, suggesting that the rapper’s numerous racism and social media controversies haven’t dimmed the keenness of his Chinese language followers.
The International Occasions, a state-backed Chinese language information outlet identified for its nationalistic stance, studies that Ye’s gig was promoted as “an immersive, multisensory expertise, promising modern stage design, upgraded setlists, and worldwide manufacturing groups.” The paper added that “promotional supplies highlighted the present as a ‘complete, genre-defying journey via Ye’s musical profession, combining sound, gentle, visuals, and installations.’”
From the outset, the temper was challenged in Shanghai Stadium Friday night time by heavy rain, which poured down upon the stage and the group via the sector’s open roof. The gang grew more and more stressed in some unspecified time in the future previous the gig’s scheduled 7:30pm begin time, with hundreds ultimately chanting for refunds. Ye lastly arrived at round 8:10pm, strolling out onto the stadium’s huge grey stage solo, carrying black leather-based pants and a grey hoodie with “China” written throughout the again. Fog, projections and spotlights set an austere temper paying homage to a few of his Donda stage design, however with even fewer visible parts. Often, an unlimited projection of Ye was beamed throughout the stage, whereas overhead screens featured extra reworked footage.
In response to the International Occasions, tickets to the gig have been dear by Chinese language requirements, starting from 980 yuan (about $135) to 2,680 yuan ($375).
Movies circulating on-line in China present moments of Ye seemingly giving the efficiency his all regardless of the robust circumstances, throwing his physique round to the beat and waving his arms wildly as he raps alongside to his hits. At different moments, he appears totally defeated, equivalent to when his most up-to-date single, Shedding Your Thoughts, booms via the stadium’s sound system, and he stops signing altogether and slowly walks off the stage. Native studies recommend the sound high quality all through the present was inconsistent at finest.
Even whereas the live performance was nonetheless underway, Ye turned a trending subject on Chinese language social media, sparking intense debate amongst followers. Some defended the rapper and blamed the setbacks on the climate, whereas others argued it was all a lazy show — or perhaps a cynical ploy to money in on China at a time when the rapper’s model stays diminished all through the West.
In a profession marked out by an uncanny capacity to remain within the information, Ye has upped the ante in 2025, seemingly leaning into his pariah standing within the leisure trade, and popular culture typically, with a sequence of massively controversial music releases and public stunts. In March, the rapper launched a observe that credited vocals to Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was about to start a federal intercourse trafficking trial. On June 13, Ye, who has been an outspoken defender of Combs, would additionally seem briefly at Combs’ trial and later that month he launched By no means Cease, an EP by Combs’ son Christian “King” Combs.
On the music aspect, in March, Ye revealed he would launch an album titled WW3, which was subsequently modified to Cuck and later A Excellent World. The primary single off his upcoming thirteenth studio album, was the only “WW3” with a canopy picture that includes a Ku Klux Klan hood. The second single “Cousins” was additionally controversial as its music video characteristic KKK iconography and a swastika. And at last, the third single was titled “Heil Hitler.”