China’s state propaganda newspaper Global Times described “widespread disappointment” in Shanghai this weekend following a concert by American rapper Kanye West, who has attempted to rehabilitate his career in the past six months by performing in China.
West thanked the Chinese government in particular after his performance but did not address any of the complaints from fans or regime-affiliated media.
West, one of the most successful mainstream music acts of the 2010s, has struggled in the past decade to attract positive attention in his home country after abruptly rebranding from alleged devout Christian to pornographer to Nazi. After months of near-universal condemnations, ruptured corporate branding agreements, lost representation, and concert venues increasingly refusing to host him, West released a single in May titled “Heil Hitler.”
West’s behavior has been received much more positively in communist China than in the United States, where he has emphasized his connections to the country, forged while living in Nanjing with his mother in 1987.
Saturday’s concert in Shanghai followed an uneventful appearance in Hainan province in September. The music publication Consequence of Sound noted in its coverage that West has only performed live in China and South Korea since 2023. West was booked to perform at a rap festival in Slovakia known as Rubicon in July, but the announcement of his appearance prompted so much outrage that the organizers canceled the event altogether.
Unlike West’s Hainan show, his late arrival, apparent lack of advertised high-end visual effects, and technical difficulties in this weekend’s appearance outraged fans, who had paid hundreds of dollars to attend the event.
According to the Global Times, West was 40 minutes late to the performance, prompting those in the stadium to begin chanting “refund” even before the performance began. The “minimal production” that follows and West reportedly randomly disappearing repeatedly during the event also allegedly caused “widespread disappointment.”
“Videos circulating online show a bare stage with no backup dancers, featuring only Ye performing alone amid occasional bursts of dry-ice smoke. The rain further compromised the sound quality, leaving many in the audience struggling to enjoy the music,” the state outlet detailed.
Quoting a fan who allegedly spoke to Global Times propagandists, West “left the stage after singing a few songs and then returned without explanation several times — ‘perhaps to change outfits,’ he speculated—which disrupted the audience’s enthusiasm just as they were starting to get into the mood.”
Other fans reportedly complained online that they had “never seen such a poorly organized concert” and “questioned whether the singer and the organizer of the event had put any real effort into the performance at all.” Adding to the outrage, the state media site noted, was the fact that the event’s promoters had emphasized that the show would include “innovative stage design, upgraded setlists, and international production teams.”
Shanghai Daily, another state-linked media outlet, similarly panned the performance, quoting unnamed attendees complaining about “disrespect” and poor quality sound. The outlet also shared brief clips of the concert that it described as a “damp squib.” The images show only black, white, and gray images of a distant West.
Chinese state outlets were far from the only ones to document the disaster. The Singapore-based Channel News Asia quoted fans on social media complaining that West was “mostly lip synching” and kept randomly leaving the stage even after being so late.
“For the encore, he disappeared for over 20 minutes at one point as tracks like Wolves just played out with him nowhere in sight. I could have just played your music at home man,” one fan lamented online.
Consequence of Sound narrated that West “appeared to have issues with the DJ, causing him to skip and restart several songs.” He also reportedly “repeatedly walked on and off the stage, eventually disappearing altogether near the end of the show.”
The most positive coverage of the event onbserved that he performed songs with deeply antisemitic lyrics, but appeared censor his most offensive lyrics. The Chinese Communist Party strictly censors all forms of expression, including in entertainment media. Given Nazi Germany’s alliance with Imperial Japan, which colonized China and fought against the Chinese communists World War II, any content praising Adolf Hitler would likely result in criminal charges for the musician.
The Global Times noted that the extent of the outrage about the concern was large enough to prompt promotor StellarAmberGroup to issue an apology. The apologize blamed West and his team for “prioritizing artistic integrity,” prompting the extended delay.
“We are deeply moved by the understanding and patience shown by many of the attendees and express our heartfelt gratitude,” the apology read. “We also extend our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused and appreciate everyone’s attention and support.”
West himself has not apologized at press time. His official Twitter account posted a brief statement thanking his fans and the Chinese Communist Party regime by name.
“Can’t wait till the next show,” he concluded.
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