Ye aka Kanye West wowed his fans at SoFi Stadium on Wednesday (4/1) in Inglewood, presenting a trippy show built around new material, classic bangers, while dealing with production issues.
Ye, as we know by now, can be a perfectionist and tends to be demanding when his vision isn't realized.
Although a Chicagoan by birth, he has called Los Angeles home for some time, and is raising a family there. Thus the two night spectacle at the enormous, modern football stadium, needed to be amazing since it was not just a homecoming for the rapper, but his first performance in the US since 2021.
The shows were so important to him he even secured a URL for the pair of mammoth gigs: yelosangeles.com.
He even autographed copies of his latest album, Bully, to add even more buzz to the shows.
Even for those who went home with the signed vinyls, it was the incredible stage that everyone told their friends about after the show.
Evolving from the UFO-esque stage from the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert Ye and Drake rapped a top in 2021 (the last time West performed in LA) to the moonscape concert floors in Asia and most recently in Mexico City, this new stage raised the bar.
It looked like the top of a smokey planet.
It even spun.
At one point early in the show it wasn't spinning the way Ye wanted so he said the most Ye thing ever.
"Make the earth move slower."
Should one man have that much power?
Maybe he should if he can sell out two nights at a 70,000 seat stadium, in this economy, despite his wildly controversial past and recent apology.
LL may have said not to call it a comeback, but is there any arc better than one?
And is there anything better than an artist who is both a visual and audible trailblazer, with an unparalleled ego - a feat in his field - placing himself on top of the world, spitting his wisdom, and you can't stop yourself from singing along?
After Ye kicked off the show with a trio of live debuts and an additional tune from Bully, he hit the crowd with a three-pack of bangers: "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "... in Paris," and "Mercy" which are the reasons his fans stay loyal - when it comes to the music, he has few peers.
And when it comes to the presentation he is alone at the top.
There was a moment when he and his 12 year old daughter, North, were about to perform "TALKING." The smokey haze rose above and around the half sphere they stood on.
It looked like father and daughter alone against the world.
While all the spectators around them cheered in awe.
It was cinema.
Los Angeles has another chance to see this show at SoFi. Hopefully the technical difficulties that resulted in Ye insisting on repeating a few songs are ironed out. After that he takes more than a month off to head to India, Turkey and Europe through the summer.
Get tix on Ye's website.
Bully 2026 Tour
5/23 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, India
5/30 Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
6/6 GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands
6/8 GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands
6/11 Orange Vélodrome, Marseille, France
7/18 RCF Arena, Reggio Emilia, Italy
7/30 Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
8/7 Estádio Algarve, Algarve, Portugal
