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Love him or hate him, when it comes to his stage performance Kanye West doesn’t disappoint. The mercurial rapper closed out the Philadelphia edition of the Budweiser Made In America festival on Saturday (Aug. 30).
Backed by three huge video screens which showed him in various silhouettes, Yeezy rocked the crowd with an array of songs from his vast discography.
Among the highlights of his 90-minute set included him performing ‘Blood on the Leaves’ four times. Each time, West urged the crowd to form posh pits and push each other around. And during his rendition of ‘Runaway,’ Yeezy performed behind a backdrop of a tranquil waterfall.
Of course, no show is complete without a rant from the Chicago rapper.
According to Philly.com, West went on a tangent for 25 minutes during his set. He He called out MTV for making a joke about his career at the VMAs, he talked about interracial dating and the freedom to create art without being criticized.
Afterward, the show became more jubilant as West performed his classic songs from the mid-00′s including ‘Jesus Walks,’ ‘Touch the Sky’ and ‘The Good Life.’ He then ended his set with ‘Bound 2,’ his love ode to his wife Kim Kardashian.
For an encore, West performed ‘Blood on the Leaves’ again and when the clock struck midnight, he dropped the mic and exited the stage.
Although Jay Z was spotted backstage watching his Watch the Throne partner rock the mic, he did not joined him onstage, which is a little disappointing. An impromptu performance of ‘N—-s in Paris’ would have been a great moment for the festival. Also, there were rumors that West would perform a brand new song but, alas, that didn’t happened.
Earlier in the evening, Roc Nation artist J. Cole graced the stage in front of diehard fans.
Before he kicked off his set, the North Carolina rhymer played ‘Be Free,’ his tribute to Michael Brown, the unarmed teen who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. The song played alongside a video montage of various acts of police brutality caught on tape.
Watch J. Cole’s ‘Be Free’ Video at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
While the powerful video set a somber mood prior to his set, Cole was able to get the crowd hyped with his own catalogue of hits.
According to MTV News, the rapper dug deep and performed songs from his 2010 mixtape ‘Friday Night Lights’ and ‘Lights Please,’ the demoed song that made Jay Z sign him. Cole also brought out Bas, his flagship artist on Dreamville Records, and performed ‘Lit’ together.
Of course, Cole did ‘Work Out,’ ‘Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ from his debut album ‘Cole World: The Sidelined Story.’ He also performed tracks from his second effort, ‘Born Sinner,’ including ‘Land of the Snakes’ and ‘Crooked Smile.’
Cole finished his set with ‘Power Trip’ where he asked the crowd to sing Miguel’s yearning lyrics, which they obliged him.
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘I Don’t Like’ at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘Runaway’ at Made In America 2014 Festival in Philadelphia
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘New Slaves’ at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘Good Life’ at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘Bound 2′ at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
Watch Kanye West Perform ‘Blood on the Leaves’ at Made In America Festival 2014 in Philadelphia
