Kanye West Brings Back the Old Kanye — Sometimes — at First U.S. Solo Show Since 2021: Concert Review

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, launched what appears to be a meticulously planned career resurgence with the first of two sold-out concerts at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium. The 70,000-capacity venue was packed for a performance that was quintessentially Ye: he spent two hours stationed atop a massive half-globe positioned on the stadium floor, with fireworks and lasers accenting a setlist of his hits. The stage design presented a clear, if thinly veiled, metaphor of the polarizing icon standing atop the world, attempting to reclaim a legacy marred by years of inflammatory tirades against Jewish people and peers alike.

This U.S. comeback follows a concerted public relations effort. In January, Ye placed a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal seeking forgiveness, attributing past behavior—including declaring "I am a Nazi" and releasing a song titled "Heil Hitler"—to a severe bipolar type-1 manic episode. Shortly after, he secured a seven-figure record deal with Gamma, the multi-platform music company behind recent releases from legends like Mariah Carey and Usher. This set the stage for "Bully," his twelfth studio album, which finally arrived on streaming services last Saturday after a year of delays and public silence. The record marks a musical return to form, favoring artful soul samples over the hateful vitriol that characterized his leaked project "Cuck," and notably scaling back the use of A.I. tools that had featured in earlier drafts.

The SoFi performance served as a live showcase for this newly minted, more subdued version of Ye. He cycled through a greatest-hits revue—from canonical anthems like "Power" and "Heartless" to deeper cuts such as "Blood on the Leaves"—alongside select tracks from "Bully." Industry analysts note that the thunderous crowd response underscores a potential path forward where the music is prioritized, suggesting that for a significant portion of the public, artistic output can sometimes exist separately from the artist's personal controversies. While tentative at first, Ye grew into the set, even bringing out special guests like his daughter North West and collaborator Don Toliver.

True to his reputation for exacting perfectionism, Ye interacted sparingly with the audience, instead using breaks to meticulously adjust the production. In a moment that quickly circulated online, he chastised his lighting director, resetting the song "Good Life" multiple times while complaining, "Stop doing the vibrating Vegas lights, bro. We went over this in rehearsal." At times, it was difficult to discern if he was rapping live, as a heavy backing track often dominated and fog shrouded the stage. However, this technical scrutiny seemed secondary to the crowd's palpable nostalgia and desire to reconnect with the artist's transformative musical genius.

As the unmistakable piano notes of "Runaway" closed the evening, the collective sentiment seemed to be one of cautious reclamation. The concert offered a reminder of Ye's boundless creativity and his indelible impact on modern music's fabric. For one night, at least, the focus remained on the songs themselves, allowing a glimpse of the imaginative artist that once seemed unimpeachable, and suggesting that not everything has been lost along his tumultuous path.