Loud chants echoed through Salt Lake City’s Delta Center, while strobe lights flickered onto the crowd and 808s quaked from the arena’s speakers.
“Yeezy. Yeezy. Yeezy. Yeezy,” fans screamed throughout the night, as two masked figures paraded on a white floor in the middle of the arena.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Ty Dolla $ign hosted their first “Live Vultures Listening Experience” Friday night, just a week after the pair of rappers dropped their collaboration album “Vultures 2″ last Saturday. The project is the sequel to their “Vultures 1″ album that was released six months ago and landed at No.1 on the Billboard 200.
In two hours, thousands of Utahns were able to listen to some of Ye’s select hits from such classic albums as “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and “The Life of Pablo,” and a plethora of songs from both him and Ty Dolla $ign’s two latest collaborations.
Throughout the week, since announcing the event, the rappers teased the event through online posts, including a text conversation posted on Instagram between Ye and Utah Jazz guard (and 2020-2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year) Jordan Clarkson.
“Yo Ye, salt lake city Friday? Sound like the move,” Clarkson said in a three-lined text.
“Yessiiiir. Good hearing from you. How you been,” Ye responded.
Despite the text confirmation from Clarkson, some fans still speculated whether or not Ye and Ty Dolla $ign would show up for the event.
But, as the clock struck a little after 9 p.m. Mountain time Friday, the sound of Ye’s infamous high-pitched piano chord, heard on the song multi-platinum single “Runaway,” reverberated throughout the near-20,000-seat arena to tease their entrance. In time, the two rappers emerged wearing face masks and dark clothing, causing the thousands of fans in attendance to erupt.
(Amy Harris | Invision/Associated Press file photo) Ty Dolla $ign, left, and Future perform at Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, April 15, 2017, in Indio, Calif.
Ye has had his share of controversy in recent years. In 2018, when visiting TMZ’s offices with conservative commentator Candace Owens, the artist went on a racist outburst by stating, “We’ve been hearing about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”
In 2022, during a Yeezy fashion event in Paris, the rapper unveiled shirts that said “White Lives Matter” — a saying commonly used by white supremacists in the United States. Later that year, Ye joined Alex Jones, the podcaster and conspiracy theorist, on the InfoWars talk show and said “I see good things in Hitler,” while steering into other antisemitic views.
His remarks ultimately led to numerous brands, including Adidas and designer label Balenciaga, to cut ties with the artist in 2022. Still, the rapper seems to maintain a strong fanbase, due to his historical hip-hop run spanning from the early 2000s to the late 2010s.
That was evident with the number of fans that filled the Delta Center on Friday night, jamming to songs from “Vultures 1′ and “Vultures 2.” At one point in the show, North West and Chicago West — Ye’s daughters with ex-wife Kim Kardashian — made cameo appearances, dancing to their features on the song “BOMB” from “Vultures 2.”
After donning jacket, pants, and a mask that covered his entire head to start the listening experience, Ye emerged maskless in a new all-white attire alongside his daughters and Ty Dolla $ign at the end of the event, while some of his classic hits played, including “Power,” “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1,” and even “Runaway” after its piano notes were teased throughout the experience.
Fans were also able to enjoy songs from the two Vultures albums, including the smash-hit “Carnival.” The moments left fans wanting more and more, as they shouted “one more song” over and over again until the show finally ended a little past 11 p.m.
Though it was billed as an album “listening experience,” the event had a vibe of a concert. The rappers even sold exclusive merch, with signature “808″ numbered Utah Jazz jerseys available for a $150 price tag. If fans didn’t want to treat themselves to the jersey, they could opt for black or white “Vultures 2′ shirts.
So far, Friday’s Salt Lake City event is the only such listening event Ye and Ty Dolla $ign have scheduled in the United States. According to Billboard, only two more sessions have been announced — in South Korea and Taiwan.
It’s the second time Ye has hosted a listening event in Salt Lake City. In 2019, the rapper brought his “Sunday Service” to The Gateway before the release of the “Jesus Is King” album on Oct. 25, 2019.
Friday’s event was less church-like, notably. But, as Ye’s two daughters danced in the spotlight at the end of the show, the rapper carried his phone in hand, circled around them and recorded the moment.
And, as he walked into the tunnel of the Delta Center, fans clapped and dispersed “Yeezy” chants onto the Chicago native once more.
Even with past controversies, Ye’s grandeur remains the same for his most die-hard fans.
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