Kanye West was crowned king at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. The hip-hop mastermind delivered an electrifying performance on Sunday night (April 17), closing out the three-day festival in Indio, Calif.
Opening his three-act spectacular with the instrumental to “H•A•M,” Mr. West was lifted above thousands of festivalgoers in dramatic fashion as the lyrics “Can we get much higher?” played. Clad in an open-chested top by Céline and light blue jeans, he made his way to the stage as dancers dressed as phoenixes pranced around to “Dark Fantasy” while Bon Iver provided backing vocals. Fireworks erupted over the desert as “POWER” blared from the speakers.
“This is the most important show to me since my mom passed,” announced Yeezy. “As many times [as] I thought about not being here, you all make it worth it.”
For Act 2, he broke out the 808s & Heartbreak, performing “Love Lockdown,” “Say You Will,” and “Heartless.” The M.I.A.-sampled “Swagga Like Us” preceded the stadium anthem “We Will Rock You,” before he spit his verse from Katy Perry’s “E.T. (Remix).”
Longtime fans were elated when he dipped into material from his debut with “Through the Wire” and “All Falls Down,” but it was “Gold Digger” and “All of the Lights” that received the warmest reception. Despite Rihanna’s appearance at the festival, she was a no-show during his set.
A wardrobe change gave way to Act 3. In his signature red suit, Kanye performed “Runaway” with ballerinas and G.O.O.D. Music’s Pusha T, dressed in all white. “Lost in the World” followed before “Hey Mama.”
“This is the last song of the night,” said ‘Ye before staging the dedication to his late mother Donda West, who was undoubtedly looking down and smiling.
