This weekend, Kanye West returned to Chicago for his first hometown sets since 2021. After numerous international show cancellations, a ban from the UK, and allegations that the rapper and producer’s most recent album was made with AI, Ye’s homecoming marked one of his most highly anticipated performances in years.
Among the first night’s guests were Big Sean, whom Ye signed to his G.O.O.D. Music label in 2007. (The two previously had a falling-out, in 2021, after Sean claimed Kanye owed him money.) The duo performed their 2012 track “Clique,” before Sean rapped his solo hit “IDFWU.” Later, they were joined by 2 Chainz for “Mercy.” Future also popped up toward the end of the night to perform “Keep it Burnin” and “Fuck Up Some Commas.” Chicago locals were likely the most excited for Twista, a Windy City legend who appeared on some of Ye’s earliest hits. Together, the pair rapped their collaborations “Overnight Celebrity,” from Twista’s 2004 LP Kamikaze, and “Slow Jamz” from College Dropout.
Night Two saw the return of Sean and Twista, along with new guests Chief Keef, Young Thug, Common, Travis Scott, Don Tolliver, GLC, Consequence, Lupe Fiasco, and—most notably—on-again off-again friend and collaborator Kid Cudi. (In a tweet following the performance, Cudi defended the reunion.) Check out the full set list and clips from both nights below.
Ye put on his first U.S. show in five years at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in April, and has slowly returned to performing stateside in the months since. He’s held shows in Tampa, San Antonio, and New Orleans. Internationally, a number of shows on this tour—including dates in London, Marseille, Prague, and Chorzów, Poland—have been cancelled over his long history of antisemitic remarks.
Revisit Sam Goldner’s live review Kanye West Wades Through the Fog at SoFi Stadium.