Does Mr. West ever cease to amaze us? Kanye gave his audience and fans an emotional headlining performance at the 2011 Essence Music Festival that left you wondering what in the world he is going through. There was no orchestra on stage this time around, but his stage presence, art deco-inspired backdrops and effective mood lighting were enough to have his fans rapping along with their diamonds held high in the air.
He opened his show with “Higher” and continued to crank out hit after hit like “Diamonds are Forever,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Jesus Walks,” to name a few. He rocked a simple white blazer, white t-shirt, jeans, a pair of black-fringed moccasins and layers of gold chains during his performance, making his fashion sense seem effortless.
What would a Kanye concert be without controversy? Before Act 2 of his set, he took a minute to explain that he doesn’t do interviews for the media anymore because of blogger and media lies. Following that, he paid a tribute to artists who have influenced him throughout his career, rocking out to many old school jams like “My Perogative” by Bobby Brown, “Before I Let you Go” by Frankie Beverly, “Love and Happiness” by Al Green and “If I Ever Fall in Love Again” by Shai, just to name a few.
Kanye topped his performance off after yelling, “Never trust a big butt and a smile! Why I ain’t listen to that song?!” after his tribute to Bel Biv Devoe’s song “Poison.” Is he still salty about Amber Rose? To add more to the excitement, Mr. West ranted about woman drama and revealed that he’s thinking about a certain woman more than he wants to, during his performance of “Say You Will.” Hey, there’s nothing like Kanye’s honesty. For more concert footage, check out the photos below. –mckenzie harris
