Kanye West's Stormy, Turbulent Shanghai Performance

Kanye "Ye" West's comeback to performing live has started with some challenges. The wayward rapper, producer, and businessman faced issues during his concert in Shanghai, China on Friday evening, including technical difficulties, bad weather, and thousands of attendees demanding refunds as he delayed the start of the event by more than 40 minutes.

He, who seldom performs live nowadays because of difficulty finding concert collaborators unbothered by his numerous contentious issues, came back to China last week following a profitable and widely shared listening event held at the Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou, Hainan Province in September 2024. His much-anticipated performance at Shanghai Stadium was scheduled to promote his upcoming album. Bully , quickly sold out within minutes, as reported locally, indicating that the rapper's numerous racial issues and online disputes have not reduced the excitement among his Chinese followers.

The Global Times A China-based media organization with government support, recognized for its patriotic viewpoint, states that Ye's performance was advertised as "an engaging, multi-sensory event, featuring creative stage setups, enhanced song selections, and global production crews." The publication also noted that "advertising content emphasized the concert as a 'complete, boundary-pushing exploration of Ye’s music history, blending audio, lighting, visual elements, and art installations.'"

Right from the beginning, the atmosphere at Shanghai Stadium on Friday evening was disrupted by torrential rain, drenching both the stage and the audience beneath the venue's uncovered ceiling. At some point after the show was supposed to begin at 7:30 pm, the crowd became more agitated, and ultimately thousands started demanding refunds. Ye finally made his appearance around 8:10 pm, stepping alone onto the large gray stage in black leather pants and a gray hoodie featuring the word "China" printed on the back. Mist, visual displays, and focused lighting created a somber ambiance evocative of some of his earlier works. Donda set design, yet with even more minimal visual components. At times, a massive image of Ye was projected onto the stage, while upper displays showed further altered video clips.

According to the Global Times Tickets for the concert were expensive according to Chinese pricing, costing between 980 yuan (approximately $135) and 2,680 yuan ($375).

Online videos from China depict Ye fully committing to his performance amid challenging conditions, moving vigorously with the rhythm and swinging his arms energetically as he raps his popular tracks. In some instances, he appears completely overwhelmed, such as when referencing his latest single, Losing Your Mind The music roars through the stadium's audio system, causing him to cease singing entirely and gradually exit the stage. Local reports indicate that the audio quality during the performance was unreliable at best.

As the concert continued, Ye quickly became a hot subject on Chinese social media platforms, leading to heated discussions among supporters. Certain individuals supported the rapper and attributed the issues to the weather conditions, whereas others claimed it was simply an unenthusiastic performance—or perhaps a shrewd strategy to profit from China during a period when the artist’s popularity has declined in Western markets.

Throughout a career defined by an unusual talent for remaining in the spotlight, Kanye has escalated things in 2025, embracing his outsider role within the entertainment world and popular culture through a string of highly contentious musical projects and public actions. In March, the rapper dropped a song featuring vocals from Sean "Diddy" Combs, just as the latter was set to start a federal sex trafficking case. On June 13, Kanye, who has consistently supported Combs, made a brief appearance at the trial and later that same month he released Never Stop an EP from Combs' son Christian "King" Combs

Regarding music, in March, Ye announced he would release an album called WW3 which was later modified to Cuck and later A Perfect World. The first track from his new 13th studio album was the single "WW3," which came with an artwork showing a Ku Klux Klan robe. The second release, "Cousins," sparked controversy because its music video included imagery associated with the KKK and a swastika. Lastly, the third single carried the title "Heil Hitler."

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