In a night fueled by rays of light and shadows of smoke, Kanye West reigned over The Forum in Los Angeles on Tuesday night for the first of five sold-out shows for the rapper.
The concert was a minimalist art showcase, where the focus was a dimly lit West hovering above the audience. From the minute you set foot inside the venue, it felt like a museum precisely constructed of West’s simplistic creativity. Once the show began, the focus shifted from the ultralight beams to foggy images of West floating atop his unique stage platform.
With a set list comprised of hits like “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” “Stronger” and “Black Skinhead,” West had the entire crowd on their feet from start to finish. He even included his features on tracks like Drake’s “Pop Style” and ScHoolboy Q’s “That Part” and found moments to perform several songs two times in a row, like the controversial track “Famous.”
“I’ve been through a lot this year with this song, trying to express my feelings in this song, and to be called every name in the book. I finally got to say what I want to say,” the rapper preached to the crowd. “And tonight proves that.”
Since the show was in L.A., many of West’s musical colleagues made a trip to The Forum. Billboard‘s 2016 Women in Music Rising Star Halsey and Katy Perry were among the few spotted in the general-admission pit of the audience. Also spotted were Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun and Chris Brown.
.@halsey & @katyperry at the #SaintPabloTour in LA tonight. pic.twitter.com/geNw6c0dLL
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) October 26, 2016
While Yeezy may not have noticed his celebrity friends, he made sure to make one very special recognition for fellow rapper Kid Cudi, who recently checked into rehab for thoughts of suicide and depression. “So Cudi, he is [in] rehab right now, but he got a No. 1 song on the radio and I want you to sing so he can hear it,” Kanye said to the audience before performing the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart-topper “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” which Cudi co-wrote.
“So Cudi, he is rehab right now, but he got a #1 song on the radio & I want you to sing so he can hear it” pic.twitter.com/gKX7z8p81E
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) October 26, 2016
After promptly starting at 9:30 p.m. PT and ending at 11 p.m., Kanye seemed to be in awe of himself, as he successfully performed for the City of Angels. “I hope you got more than you hoped for coming here tonight,” West said to the audience as one of his closing statements.
Even though the concert ended, fans poured outside the venue immediately reflecting on everything Kanye. Some fans even screamed that the concert was “a God dream,” as stated in West’s song “Ultralight Beam.”
This story originally appeared on Billboard.com.
