Ye attempts a comeback with sold-out LA-area concert

LOS ANGELES (AP):

The artiste formerly and possibly again known as Kanye West revelled in support from one of his musical idols, Lauryn Hill, as he staged a sold-out Southern California concert meant to mark a comeback from years of controversy.

Eleven months after releasing a song titled Heil Hitler and just over two months after publishing an apology letter for his antisemitism, Ye let two decades of hits — and 70,000 screaming loyal fans — speak the loudest on Friday night at SoFi Stadium.

“I want to thank y’all for sticking by me all these years. Through the hard times, through the low times,” he told the crowd. “I love you for that.”

Hill joined Ye on a stage for the first time ever for an energetic rendition of his 2004 hit All Falls Down, which originally sampled her voice. Ye left the stage as she performed Lost Ones and Doo Wop (That Thing) before rejoining for his 2021 Doo Wop-sampling song Believe What I Say. They hugged as she exited.

Travis Scott, CeeLo Green, and Ye’s tween daughter North West also strapped on safety harnesses to join Ye high above the stadium floor atop a striking half-orb stage, which alternately depicted a moon, a rotating Earth, and a smoking sphere throughout the two hours-plus livestreamed performance.

A loud singalong of Heartless midway through the more than 40-song Good Friday show seemed to boost Ye’s spirits: “That’s what 80,000 people sound like, ladies and gentlemen. … They said I’d never be back in the States. Two sold-out concerts, baby!”

The first SoFi show, Wednesday, his first major US performance in nearly five years, turned out to be more of a warm-up as Ye was tentative in his rapping and drew attention to technical mishaps.

Fans at that show said they separated the 48-year-old performer’s personal beliefs and public statements from his music — and were ready to forgive after his January apology letter.

“You gotta back your family no matter what,” said Vince Da Prince, a rapper from Downey, California. “He’s a part of our fam since we were little kids.”

Added fan Yovani Contreras: “I don’t really bring into politics or the way someone’s personal opinions are. I’m into the music artistry … Like, I just, to me, Ye is always gonna be Ye. Kanye is always gonna be Kanye.”

Luis Velasquez said he had been a long-time fan and had been put off by controversies in recent years, but felt the apology was sincere.

“Yeah, he did apologise,” he said. “He’s taking the medication, I think is what he mentioned. … For me as a fan, that’s, like, respect, right? Like, I think that’s cool enough to bridge that gap.”

Ye released his latest album, Bully, under both the names Ye and Kanye West, at the end of March. He dominated hip-hop and pop charts in the 2000s and early 2010s, winning 24 Grammy Awards despite public outbursts and a polarising personality. He lost nearly all his major business partnerships and many fans after a string of controversies in the last several years, including antisemitic remarks and social media posts.

He closed Friday night’s show with his “toast to the douchebags” hit Runaway, and walked out of the stadium behind his wife, Bianca Censori, and two of his children.