Music
The usually unfiltered artist offered no commentary on his recent controversies during his first major musical U.S. outing in several years.
Mitch Saavedra
Kanye West, the rapper-producer now known as Ye, returned to the stage in Los Angeles with only music on his mind during the first of his two-night stint at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. on Wednesday, April 1. His comeback concert follows years of headline-grabbing controversies, mental health struggles, and his public apology in a Wall Street Journal ad this past January for his antisemitic remarks. In rare form, the usually unfiltered artist offered no commentary on the backlash during his first major musical U.S. outing in several years.
Cancel culture had little effect on the headliner as thousands of fans, decked out in Kanye gear (sans swastikas) and luchador-inspired shirts straight from the merch booth, packed the floor section and venue. Peep the pricing, and Ye is still getting paid to play his catalog despite his real-world antics. Per Ticketmaster, a general admission ticket for his April 3rd show currently retails at $537.80 each. Resale tickets for upper-level seating, which provide a better view of Ye’s half-Sphere set-up, cost several hundred dollars. Online onlookers caught the livestream, announced hours before Wednesday night’s show, on his Instagram account.
For two hours, Ye powered through a meandering setlist of nostalgic hits and repeat numbers mixed with crowd-pleasers from his recently released twelfth album, Bully. With a black mask on, he sauntered by himself along the top of his dome-shaped stage that mirrored Earth and, at times, a lonely planet of one.
The audience showed range as Gen Z fans sang and swayed along to newer material from Bully, like “FATHER” and the André Troutman-assisted “ALL THE LOVE.” A mosh pit also broke out for “Blood on the Leaves.” For the elder millennials, the bittersweet spot was the medleys of older Kanye cuts released from 2004 to 2016 (think The College Dropout to The Life of Pablo). The defiant “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and triumphant “N—-s in Paris” rang out from the SoFi Stadium as though Graduation or the joint JAY-Z LP Watch the Throne had just dropped. “Say You Will” and “Heartless” from 2008’s 808s & Heartbreak brought familiar aches of love lost and memories of Auto-Tune supremacy. The hard-hitting finale of “All Falls Down,” “Jesus Walks,” “Through the Wire,” “Good Life,” “All of the Lights,” and the poignant closer “Runaway” triggered a yearning for simpler, happier times — for ourselves and Chicago’s very own.
Beyond the wistful setlist, technical glitches clashed with Ye’s artistic vision. During the opening numbers “KING” and “THIS A MUST” (he ran these back for take-two performances later in the show), he encountered issues with his mic and sound. He paused his performance of the “Good Life” three times due to his dismay with the “corny” lights. “Is this like an SNL skit or something?” he asked. “Stop doing the vibrating Vegas lights, bro. We went over this in rehearsal.” The Night 1 at SoFi concert might as well have been a run-through for his April 3rd production, which happens to fall on Good Friday. (Cue the weekly G.O.O.D. Friday releases the preceded his seminal 2010 offering My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.)
Production grievances aside, Ye was accompanied by two notable plus-ones during his set. Frequent collaborator Don Toliver emerged for live renditions of “Moon” and his solo single “E85.” Ye’s daughter, North, brought her adorable aura and vibrant blue tresses to her performance of “Talking” and “PIERCING ON MY HAND” while rocking her dad’s concert shirt, all on a school night.
Throughout the show, Ye worked out his stage hiccups in real time without launching into a tirade. For long-time followers, separating Ye’s erratic behavior from his deep bag of hits will always be a struggle, especially while carrying grief for his bygone eras. Meanwhile, Ye’s once-close friend and music partner Jaÿ-Z is also headed to the stadium stage this summer, evoking more complicated feelings for what could have been. Ye may be keeping his lips zipped for now, but only time will tell if a redemption tour is on the way.
SETLIST
1. KING
2. THIS A MUST
3. FATHER
4. ALL THE LOVE
5. Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1
6. Can’t Tell Me Nothing
7. N—-s in Paris
8. Mercy
9. Praise God
10. Black Skinhead
11. On Sight
12. Blood on the Leaves
13. Carnival
14. Power
15. Bound 2
16. Say You Will
17. Heartless
18. Moon (with Don Toliver)
19. E85 (Don Toliver)
20. KING
22. THIS A MUST
22. FATHER
23. ALL THE LOVE
24. Talking (North West)
25. Piercing On My Hand (North West)
26. Everybody
27. All Falls Down
28. Jesus Walks
29. Through the Wire
30. Good Life
31. All of the Lights
32. Runaway