In his latest comeback attempt, Kanye West returned to the stage in Los Angeles with a scene designed to signal resilience, significance, and perhaps redemption. Instead, it reignited a familiar question: Who exactly is he willing to side with – and at what cost?
Friday’s show at SoFi Stadium, his second high-profile US show in years after Wednesday’s event at the same venue, which attracted tens of thousands of enthusiastic fans, saw a parade of high-profile collaborators and endorsers, including Travis Scott, Cee Lo Green and a surprise appearance by Lauryn Hill. The night was positioned as a celebration of West’s catalog and influence, with guests turning out to emphasize the breadth of his musical alliances.
But the optics were impossible to separate from the context.
Hill joined West to perform his 2004 hit “All Falls Down,” which was inspired by her 2002 live song “Mystery of Iniquity” and was split from performing “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in West’s 2021 song “Believe What I Say,” which samples “Doo Wop.”
Hill also performed “Lost Ones” and was joined by his sons Zion Marley and YG Marley on “Heartbeat”, “Crisis” and “Praise Jah in the Moonlight”. She and West hugged as she left the stage after their first performance together, according to the Associated Press.
West previously compared his new, yet-to-be-released album Bully to Hill’s popular 1998 Grammy Award-winning record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
The show comes on the heels of anti-Semitic rhetoric widely condemned in the West and the release of “Heil Hitler,” a track that sparked backlash for its overt Nazi references and helped cement his distancing from much of the industry. Although he has since attempted to retract some of his statements, the repercussions have remained, shaping how each new appearance, collaboration, and performance is received.
This tension was particularly acute around Hill’s involvement.
Her surprise collection was meant to evoke a sense of legacy and continuity. Instead, it quickly became an online lightning rod. Within hours, social media was filled with criticism from users wondering why an artist of Hill’s stature would align, even briefly, with West in light of the controversy surrounding her. For some, the moment was less a musical reunion than a tacit endorsement.
The presence of longtime collaborators Scott and Greene, who showed up and performed their bully tracks, heightened the sense that despite the backlash, a core circle of artists remained willing to share West’s stage.
Rapper North West’s 12-year-old daughter, whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, also returned to the stage on Friday, after performing alongside her father on Wednesday’s show.
But Hale’s appearance, given her distinguished status and more selective public profile, carried a different symbolic weight, and warranted more careful scrutiny.
This episode highlights the fraught calculations of the Greater West’s attempted comeback. His performances may continue to draw audiences, and his peers may continue to appear alongside him. But each common sign now appears differently, refracted by the unresolved fallout of his anti-Semitic statements and provocations.
In this sense, the most important takeaway from the rapper’s return was not the size of the show or even the music. It was the guest list — and the controversy that came with it.
Hilary Lewis contributed to this report.
