To be a Kanye West fan today, expect some headaches and some delays. And in true fashion, the rapper had his fans waiting for more than two hours for a livestreamed listening party of his new album Thursday 2 on Tuesday evening.
And when West finally showed up, the sequel to last summer’s Thursday felt more like an overhyped drop of discarded and disjointed songs rather than a full-fledged studio album, full of choppy audio and some glitches.
Instead, West seemed to rely on his strained relationship with his family and ongoing divorce from Kim Kardashian, which translated into momentum for the album’s release, which he had only made available on his $200 portable audio listening device. , Voice Player.
Over the course of the two-hour Miami event, West roamed the stage, which was stark save for a burned-out church, resembling his childhood home in Chicago, engulfed in a shallow pool of water, as he played his new songs, which focused on his selfishness, feeling disconnected from his four young children, and his estrangement from Kardashian.
He also didn’t dare pass up the chance to see Kardashian’s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson. West had already made his feelings about Davidson clear earlier this month by unleashing a torrent of childish memes on the comedian on social media as he urged his followers to harass the 28-year-old (he didn’t call the dogs off until Kardashian complained). ).
Kanye West has a long, twisted history of album release antics
But it was still shocking to hear that West specifically targeted Davidson at the sold-out event at LoanDepot Park. “God saved me from that crash so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass,” he rapped with The Game on “Eazy.”
Another song seemed to refer to a text Davidson had sent to West, trying unsuccessfully to extend an olive branch to him by stating that he had no intention of getting in the way of West’s relationship with his children. “He’s not a threat, text him, put him on a timeout,” West knocked on “Security.” “I’m jeopardizing your safety. Never stand between a man and his children.”
West took a softer approach to Kardashian, who is also mentioned or alluded to several times on the album. The rapper has been planning to win back Kardashian and publicly pleaded for reconciliation since his whirlwind show with Uncut Gemstones actress Julia Fox crumbled spectacularly last week.
West used Kardashian’s as an intro to ‘Sci-Fi’ Saturday Night Live opening monologue, apparently in an attempt to evoke her happy memories of their relationship. “Honestly, all the ups, all the downs,” she says. “I mean, I’m married to the greatest rapper of all time. Not only that, he’s the richest black man in America,” with the sound cutting out just before Kardashian jokes that she divorced West because of his personality.
In other parts of the postponed concert, West paid tribute to his late friend Virgil Abloh, the unnamed CNN and Monica Lewinsky, even managing to record Vice President Kamala Harris’s now infamous “we did it, Joe” audio. to include in the intro to “Louis Bags.”
He was also joined onstage by Jack Harlow – who West recently stated he was in his current Top 5 rappers – as well as Alicia Keys, Migos, Pusha T and The Game. And for what can only be assumed as added shock value, West also brought up DaBaby and accused abuser Marilyn Manson of standing next to him during their track of Thursday “Prison pt. 2,” let alone that the song isn’t even on the current album.
The concert seemed to end suddenly, with a bizarre feature courtesy of Playboi Carti in Joker-esque clown makeup. Overall, the star-studded extravaganza didn’t seem to make up for the two and a half hours that fans had to wait in the stadium after being told the concert would start at 8pm –resort to doing the wave to amuse themselves†
It’s classic West, who announced last week that the sequel to last summer’s Thursday would only be available on its expensive Stem Player — apparently barring a $100 million deal with Apple in the process.
And follow in the footsteps of dondas album listening parties, West announced he would be hosting an event in Miami. (Rick Ross was one of West’s friends who came to the Miami event and documented the arrival of Elon Musk, French Montana, Diddy and DJ Khaled in a VIP suite –who apparently all tried to pass the time by chatting about crypto†
After tickets to the listening party sold out quickly, West announced that he would be partnering with IMAX theaters and selecting 15 cities to livestream the concert. Then, on Tuesday night, West’s social media outlets announced that the event would also be streamed live on his Stem Player website. But the supposed showtime came and went, with a technical glitch popping up on the site, leading to West’s YouTube channel and Twitch eventually livestreaming the delayed event.
The album’s drop came after a tiring few weeks of what can only be described as a series of cunning PR stunts by West as he embarked on a short-lived romance with Fox before feuding via social media with Kardashian, Billie Eilish, and Kid Cudi, and harassing Davidson. When the media storm finally seemed to calm down, West announced the decline in… Thursday 2 for the low, low price of $230.
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