The famous rapper ‘Ye’ (formerly Kanye West) gave a grand performance for more than two hours on Wednesday night at the Sofai Stadium near Los Angeles, USA. The concert was performed on a circular stage that gave a glimpse of the future.

Although this was for a limited time, the anti-Semitic and racial controversies surrounding him in later years seemed secondary to the audience present and to the artist himself. The audience was humming along to his old popular songs. There was a feeling that the smoke of fireworks, the glow of laser lights and the musical atmosphere overshadowed the past disputes for some time.

Due to these controversies, Ye lost major commercial contracts in the previous year and his musical and cultural image was affected. But this concert at Sofai Stadium seems like a sign of a new beginning for him. He, who is trying to improve his image as an artist, producer and fashion designer, has given a clear signal of re-branding through this program.

This performance is the first of two concerts in conjunction with the public release of his new album ‘Bully’. He is scheduled to give a keynote performance at this stadium again on Friday.

This concert is considered to be his first full live performance in America since 2021. However, in 2024, he organized some ‘listening parties’, in which he tried to listen to new music.

This year he also performed in Mexico City. He is also scheduled to perform in the UK, Italy and Spain in the coming summer. These shows have been presented as an attempt to bring him back to the main stage, especially as it is seen as his re-entry after being away from the industry for some time due to controversies.

Wednesday’s presentation came just two months ago when Yeh published an ad in The Wall Street Journal expressing regret for his recent anti-Semitic behavior. He said that he hoped to be forgiven by apologizing to the person he had hurt.

Since 2022, he has published controversial statements such as ‘Death Con 3 on Jewish People’ on social media, and appeared in an interview dressed as a black Ku Klux Klan. Such activities had a serious impact on his career.

After this, his programs decreased and Adidas, which was producing the ‘Yeezy’ brand, broke the contract with him. Personal life also changed. He is divorced from reality star Kim Kardashian, with whom he has four children.

Meanwhile, his eldest daughter North West (12) unexpectedly appeared on stage at Wednesday’s concert. The audience showed special enthusiasm when he performed together with rapper Don Tolliver.

Last January, Ye linked his behavior to untreated bipolar 1 disorder, saying it was due to the time he stopped taking his medication.

But at Wednesday’s concert, he did not respond to the controversy. The only comment he gave from the stage was to express his displeasure with the lighting management and give instructions to the stage technicians, especially he was repeating his complaint that he did not like the speed of the lighting.

“This is no ‘S.N.L.’ Is it a skit or what?” Ye had joked saying, which made the audience laugh. He pointed to the stage technician and said, “Turn off these vibrating Vegas-style lights, we talked about this in rehearsal.”

At that time, the stage, which was illuminated to look like the moon, was returned to the form of the earth. Throughout the show, he was seen swaying to the rhythm of the music, but also taking long dramatic pauses in between, standing on the circular stage and accepting the cheers of the audience. He was tied to the stage, which made the performance even more dramatic.

The show included songs from her new album, the lyrics of which seemed to hint at her behavior. In the song ‘Father’, he has expressed the feeling of “saying goodbye to the old self, waking up to the new one”. Similarly, his famous songs like ‘Blood on the Lives’ and ‘Jesus Walks’ were also presented.

The whole stadium screamed “Yeezy!” The slogans were resounding. According to the organizers, this event at Sofai Stadium was completely ‘sold out’ with 68,000 spectators.

In an email response before the concert, David Anglin, senior regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (Los Angeles), said, “Ye’s apology does not automatically erase his long history of anti-Semitism. We hope that he will use this platform and other opportunities in the future to do positive things, not to spread hate.”

However, his supporters have seen his personal behavior and music separately for a long time. Before the concert started, 20-year-old Julian Caratachea, who was heading towards the stadium entrance, said, ‘His music has never done us any harm.’ He also expressed hope that after this concert Ye will do more live shows.

According to him, ‘If you are here for the music, not for your personal opinion, that is the important thing. Music is what ultimately connects us.’

Some fans in the floor section of the stadium wore mortarboard caps to commemorate the 2007 album ‘Graduation’. Before and after the show, fans were seen queuing to buy official merchandise including ‘Bully’ album cover artwork, indicating that the commercial side of the show was also very active.

From The New York Times.