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Kanye West, the artist and producer now going by Ye, stepped back onto a Los Angeles stage focused purely on the music during night one of his two show run at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Wednesday, April 1. The return arrives after years filled with controversy, public scrutiny, personal struggles involving mental health, and his January apology published in The Wall Street Journal addressing his antisemitic comments. Showing unusual restraint, the outspoken performer chose not to address any of the criticism during what marked his first major U.S. performance in years.
Public backlash did little to slow the momentum of the event as thousands of supporters filled the venue floor and stands. Many arrived dressed in Kanye merchandise, avoiding controversial imagery, along with lucha style shirts fresh from the merch counters. A look at ticket prices shows Ye continues to command major revenue from his catalog despite his offstage controversies. According to Ticketmaster, general admission tickets for the April 3 show were listed at $537.80. Resale listings for upper tier seats, which offered clearer views of his half sphere inspired stage design, were also priced in the hundreds. Fans who could not attend in person were able to watch through a livestream that appeared on his Instagram just hours before the performance began.
Across a two hour performance, Ye delivered a wide ranging set filled with classic favorites, repeated tracks, and selections from his recently released twelfth album Bully. Wearing a black face covering, he walked alone across the curved stage structure designed to resemble Earth and at moments gave the impression of a solitary figure on his own world.
The crowd reflected different generations of listeners as younger fans sang along to newer tracks such as “FATHER” and the André Troutman collaboration “ALL THE LOVE.” Energy spiked when a mosh pit formed during “Blood on the Leaves.” Older millennial fans found their nostalgia during a sequence of songs spanning Kanye’s early and mid career from 2004 through 2016, from The College Dropout through The Life of Pablo. Songs like “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “N—-s in Paris” echoed through SoFi Stadium with the same intensity as when Graduation or the Jay Z collaboration Watch the Throne first arrived. “Say You Will” and “Heartless” from 2008’s 808s & Heartbreak brought back familiar feelings tied to heartbreak and the era when Auto Tune shaped the sound of pop and hip hop. The closing stretch featuring “All Falls Down,” “Jesus Walks,” “Through the Wire,” “Good Life,” “All of the Lights,” and the emotional finale “Runaway” sparked a sense of longing for earlier days both for fans and for the Chicago native himself.
Aside from the nostalgic song choices, technical problems occasionally interrupted Ye’s creative plans. Early performances of “KING” and “THIS A MUST,” which he later repeated, were affected by microphone and audio complications. He also stopped “Good Life” three separate times because he was unhappy with what he called the “corny” lighting setup. “Is this like an SNL skit or something?” he asked the production team. “Stop doing the vibrating Vegas lights, bro. We went over this in rehearsal.” The first SoFi Stadium show almost felt like a preparation run for the April 3 performance, which also happens to land on Good Friday. The timing also recalls the G.O.O.D. Friday song releases that led into his landmark 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Despite frustrations with the production, Ye did not perform alone. Longtime collaborator Don Toliver joined him onstage for performances of “Moon” and his own track “E85.” Ye’s daughter North also appeared, bringing bright energy and her blue hair to performances of “Talking” and “PIERCING ON MY HAND.” She wore one of her father’s concert shirts during the appearance, all while it was still a school night.
As the concert continued, Ye handled the technical setbacks as they happened without turning the situation into a rant. For longtime fans, separating his unpredictable public behavior from his extensive catalog of influential songs remains complicated, especially for those who still feel connected to his earlier creative periods. At the same time, his former close collaborator Jaÿ Z is preparing for his own stadium appearances this summer, which adds another layer of reflection about what their partnership once represented. Ye may be staying quiet publicly for now, yet questions remain about whether a full redemption era could still be ahead.
Ye 2026 Set List
1. KING
2. THIS A MUST
3. FATHER
4. ALL THE LOVE
5. Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1
6. Can’t Tell Me Nothing
7. N—-s in Paris
8. Mercy
9. Praise God
10. Black Skinhead
11. On Sight
12. Blood on the Leaves
13. Carnival
14. Power
15. Bound 2
16. Say You Will
17. Heartless
18. Moon (with Don Toliver)
19. E85 (Don Toliver)
20. KING
22. THIS A MUST
22. FATHER
23. ALL THE LOVE
24. Talking (North West)
25. Piercing On My Hand (North West)
26. Everybody
27. All Falls Down
28. Jesus Walks
29. Through the Wire
30. Good Life
31. All of the Lights
32. Runaway
This article was originally published on VIBE.
