Kanye West got on stage this weekend at the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles, and his dance movies had many fans alarmed.
West performed inside of a clear prism of some kind on Sunday night, along with rapper Kid Cudi. West was lit eerily from beneath and surrounded by steam. In between verses, he moved his entire body in violent, jerking motions, throwing himself around the enclosure in haphazard ways.
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“LMFAO NAH SON WTF IS YE DOING,” tweeted one fan, who found footage of the performance on Jasper Dolphin’s Instagram Story.
Ye saw a ghost pic.twitter.com/wGsfE39XxS
โ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐ (@annie_zepeda) November 12, 2018
“Old Kanye is trying to fight his way back out like the Nutty Professor,” joked another person.
Videos from different angles circulated all over social media. The performance raised a lot of questions with fans, who wondered what the rapper was going for with his athletic display. Some suggested it was an allusion to other performances, including his own music video for his song “Fade.” Many, many others simply mocked West.
“Remember on Space Jam when the aliens stole everybody’s talent,” one person quipped. “And they were walking around like dope [fiends].”
West himself ignored all of the jokes, though he did tweet about the performance. Apparently, his time inside the plexiglas display case made him rethink his work and his upcoming album, which is already well past its promised release date.
It felt so good being on the stage last night with my brother Cudi. After performing again, I realize the new album Iโve been working on isnโt ready yet. Iโll announce the release date once itโs done. Thank you for understanding.
โ ye (@kanyewest) November 13, 2018
“It felt so good being on the stage last night with my brother Cudi,” he wrote. “After performing again, I realize the new album I’ve been working on isn’t ready yet. I’ll announce the release date once it’s done. Thank you for understanding.”
Meanwhile, another pop music icon has a clear idea of where West’s strange performance came from. Lorde got on Instagram after the show, all but directly accusing West and Cudi of stealing her set design and ideas. She herself has had a dancer in a plastic box above the stage at her shows for nearly a year now.
“I’m proud of the work I do and it’s flattering when other artists feel inspired by it, to the extent that they choose to try it on themselves,” she wrote. “But don’t steal — not from women or anyone else — not in 2018 or ever.”
Lorde is not the only pop icon who is over West’s antics. Last month, during West’s final tirade in support of President Donald Trump, Lan Del Rey left a long comment on Instagram condemning the rapper.
“Trump becoming our president was a loss for the country but your support of him is a loss for the culture,” she wrote. “I can only assume you relate to his personality on some level. Delusions of Grandeur, extreme issue with narcissim — none of which would be a talking point if we weren’t speaking about the man leading our country.”
“If you think it’s alright to support someone who believes it’s OK to grab a woman by the pโ just because he’s famous – then you need an intervention as much as he does – because there just isn’t enough help for the issue,” she continued. “Message sent with concern that will never be addressed.”