Ye’s Return to China After 16 Years: Questions Remain as Planned Listening Party Experience Nears
The artist formerly known as Kanye West previously performed in China during his Glow in the Dark Tour in 2008.
Ye is bringing his extended Vultures trilogy rollout to Hainan, an island province of China, following his and Ty Dolla Sign’s recent listening party experience in South Korea.
As CNBC pointed out in a report shared prior to the Sept. 15 event, a recent government update saw the then-impending show in the capital’s Haikou Wuyuanhe Stadium mentioned, with officials quite accurately billing it as a decidedly rare occurrence. Ye himself shared an official flyer to Instagram announcing the show late last month. Notably, the show was initially billed as being Ye only, i.e. no Ty. It comes after a previously announced Vultures show in Taiwan was ultimately called off.
Reporting ahead of Sunday’s event pointed to controversy surrounding its announcement, with some expressing shock that the event was happening at all, due both to political reasons and to the location itself.
The aforementioned piece by CNBC made clear that speculation ahead of the scheduled show pointed to this being part of a larger effort aimed at tourism in the region. One tourism expert, for example, was quoted in the piece as theorizing that this was the island province "trying hard to forge its branding as an international destination." Haikou is in fact self-billed as "the performing arts capital," with the recent government announcement including mention of other upcoming events, including a two-day music festival at the same venue. Ye is not listed on the lineup for that event.
Image via Ye on Instagram
On a personal level, China is a key part of the larger Ye story, with fans commemorating the Sept. 15 show announcement by sharing throwback photos of the 24-time Grammy winner as a child alongside his late mother Donda, who was teaching in the Nanjing area at the time.
Severe weather could end up playing a part in complicating Ye’s planned Hainan show. Per the Associated Press, a typhoon forced hundreds of thousands of people in the region to suddenly relocate late last week. As of this writing, the flyer remained live on Ye's IG.
Meanwhile, fans have expressed doubt about the event moving forward on Reddit and elsewhere, with some stating they had procured tickets but were expecting a postponement, at best.
Complex has reached out to Ye's reps for comment. This story may be updated.
As part of his Glow in the Dark Tour in 2008 in support of his third studio album, Graduation, Ye performed in Beijing and Shanghai. The Hainan show would mark his first performance in China since then.
Other recent Vultures experiences, including the South Korea one that’s now available to watch in full on YouTube (see below), have seen Ye expanding what’s come to be expected at these listening parties. The South Korea show saw him digging into his back catalog, including by teasing the "Runaway" piano intro throughout the setlist. Ye and Ty’s Vultures 2, meanwhile, is the second volume in what was originally announced as a trilogy. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Like its predecessor, the album was met with a number of updates post-release.
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