Kanye “Ye” West drew massive crowds to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and wowed fans at his two sold-out comeback concerts.
Concertgoers filled the 70,000-seat venue on April 1 and April 3, and gave the shows high marks on social media.
There was no opening act, just the Grammy-winning rapper and a few close friends performing on a floating stage designed to look like a revolving Earth. The performers were tethered to the stage to prevent any mishaps.
Ye posted an edit of the concerts on YouTube, featuring just under three hours of music. Fans praised the performances in the comments section, describing the shows as “amazing,” “legendary,” and said it was “life-changing” to attend the concerts.
After kicking off the shows with “King” from his newly released studio album Bully, Ye segued into “This A Must,” “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1,” “Ni—s in Paris,” “Power,” “Stronger,” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” as the audience chanted along.
The second night of the shows featured a roster of chart-topping collaborators, including legendary singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill who joined Ye for a performance of “All Falls Down.”
Hill also belted out her hit singles “Lost Ones” and “Doo Wop (That Thing),” and was joined by her sons Zion Marley and YG Marley.
“Sicko Mode” rapper Travis Scott joined Ye on stage to perform their single “Father” from Bully. At one point, there was even a cover of the Backstreet Boy’s “Everybody,” with the lyrics changed to say “Yeezy’s back, alright!”
Ye brought out Grammy-winning artist CeeLo Green and the two performed the title track from Bully together. CeeLo wore a shirt with “BULLY” spelled out across his back.
Also taking the stage were musician and producer André Troutman, and Ye’s daughter North West.
Critics denounced the concert before it got underway, including Jewish advocate and politician Sam Yebri, who called the event a slap in the face to L.A.’s Jewish community.
“SoFi hosting a Ye concert after his years of hate-filled vitriol and Nazi-inspired music spits in the face of every Jewish person in Los Angeles,” Yebri told the California Post last month.
In January, the rapper took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal and apologized to the Jewish and Black communities for previous hurtful comments.
Two months later, SoFi Stadium announced it would be hosting West’s first public performances in L.A. in five years.
While longtime fans continue to embrace the rapper, his apology wasn’t enough to stop Pepsi from dropping its sponsorship of London’s upcoming Ye-headlined Wireless Festival scheduled for July.
“Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival,” the company said in a statement Sunday to the Associated Press.
The decision came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was “deeply concerning” that the rapper was booked as the marquee performer at the three-day festival.
“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe,” he said in comments published by The Sun on Sunday.
The paper reported Ye has been booked to headline all three nights of the festival, which is expected to draw a total of 150,000 music fans.
The SoFi Stadium video is below:
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