The Yeezus Tour
The Yeezus Tour was the fourth concert tour by American rapper Kanye West, in support of West's sixth solo studio album, Yeezus (2013).[1] The venture served as West's first solo concert tour in five years. Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, Travis Scott, and Pusha T served as opening acts on select dates. It had the second highest grossing leg of a tour in 2013, behind Paul McCartney's Out There! Tour.[2] It was the highest-grossing hip-hop tour of 2013, at $31.8 million from 33 shows.[3]
Associated album
Background[edit]
After the release of Yeezus on June 18, 2013, rumors began circulating that West would embark on a solo tour. Co-producer of the album Mike Dean reported that there would be a tour for the album and that he would be a backing producer for the show.[4] On September 6, 2013, West tweeted the word "TOUR" along with the promotional picture of the tour. All of the dates for the opening tour performances (all of which were in North America) became available via his official website.[5]
Kendrick Lamar served as a supporting act through the majority of the tour, with "special guests" replacing him on the dates he missed. At the October 25, 2013 show, GOOD Music signee Pusha T served as the opening act.[6] On October 15, 2013, it was revealed that two of the four New York shows would feature A Tribe Called Quest as supporting acts instead of Lamar.[7] These concerts were stated to be A Tribe Called Quest's final performances ever, which ultimately proved untrue as they reunited two years later.[8]
Reception[edit]
The tour was met with rave reviews from critics.[17][18] Rolling Stone described it as "crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers."[17] Writing for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for "taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop", describing the show as "overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but [it] excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in a way that just isn’t common for mainstream musical acts of late."[19] NY Daily News wrote that "the show wasn’t about crowd-pleasing. It was about unyielding beats, hellish textures and a brusque flow, all delivered with an impact every bit as stunning as West's ego itself."[20] In 2019, Vivid Seats named it the 68th greatest tour of all time.[21]
The following individuals were involved with the production: