jackybetman: Kanye West Performs at Wireless Festival in London, Gets Booed for Rant (Video)

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Kanye West Performs at Wireless Festival in London, Gets Booed for Rant (Video)

Kanye West delivered both an epic performance and an epic rant at the Wireless Festival in London. While the performance was well received, his lengthy speech did not go over quite so well with the audience; they booed him and left in droves.

Kanye West was a last-minute replacement for Canadian rapper Drake at the annual festival held at Finsbury Park in London. As is typical, the hip hop icon and husband of Kim Kardashian has made headlines not just for his performance but for what he had to say. Some in the audience, however, preferred the music over the lecture and were not appreciative of his spoken-word intermission. Not only was there booing at the time, but according to The Daily Mail many people left, and social media was ablaze with comments.

The publication goes on note that Kanye West interrupted his performance to talk about the fashion industry, and his grievances over discrimination he has faced. This is a subject he has addressed in the past. He said in part, “I’m not going to mention any names but… Nike, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Don’t discriminate against me ‘cos I’m a black man making music.” He is also reported as saying, “F**k saving face and what it’s supposed to mean, it’s about living my dream.”

A reviewer for The Independent, making note of the “chain-mail gimp mask” Kanye West was wearing during much of the concert — and that West had said he wore the mask to “save face” — when on to recount the disruptive 15-minute rant and concluded that overall “for much of this gig he made the wrong sort of spectacle of himself.”

While the grievances may have validity, it has not gone unnoticed on concertgoers that perhaps such grievances might be better addressed in another setting. Among the songs he performed that night, in an extensive set-list were ‘All of the Lights,’ ‘Touch the Sky,’ ‘Blood On The Leaves,’ ‘Black Skinhead,’ ‘New Slaves,’ and ‘Bound 2.’

It was the first of two nights of performances at the Wireless Festival, as Kanye West takes to the stage once again on Saturday night.

You can see several video highlights below from his Friday night concert including the rant.

Booed