On Thursday night, the Kanye West circus continued — with a new addition: watch Ye set himself on fire!
Yes, that’s correct. West set himself on fire at the latest in a series of “Donda” listening parties, this one at Soldier Field in his hometown of Chicago, in a blazingly bizarre stunt that was, thankfully, just that: a stunt.
The fireworks happened at the end, while the rapper was standing in front of a replica of his childhood home, which was used to represent his upbringing with his late mother, Donda West, who inspired the title of her son’s 10th studio album — which was not released, as promised, following the event.
But the fire wasn’t the only trainwreck at the listening party, which came after previous ones at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where West, 44, is rumored to have been holed up to finish “Donda.”
Kim Kardashian, West’s 40-year-old ex, also appeared onstage in a white Balenciaga Couture wedding gown as the estranged couple recreated their 2014 wedding during “No Child Left Behind.”
Then there were the appearances of Marilyn Manson and DaBaby, two controversial figures. West brought out shock rocker Manson, who was dropped by his label — and the rest of the music industry — earlier this year after a number of women accused him of abusing them physically, mentally, and sexually.
DaBaby, whose homophobic rant at Rolling Loud in Miami in July led to him being dropped from other festivals, appeared to replace Jay-verse Z’s on a “Donda” track that had previously been heard at the first Mercedes-Benz Stadium listening party.
Many viewers were taken aback by the artists’ appearances, with one snarking, “Donda would be so proud,” and another tweeting, “I hear Cosby’s free these days,” a reference to sitcom star Bill Cosby, whose sexual assault conviction in Pennsylvania was overturned in June.
Another well-known artist, Lauryn Hill, made an appearance on one of the “Donda” tracks, but only in a sample of her hit “Doo Wop (That Thing)” from her 1998 classic “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
Fans expressed their dissatisfaction on social media, demanding an explanation for why the album had not yet been released. An impatient critic requested, “Please for the love of god drop this album,” while another’s patience ran dry with the all-caps response, “OKAY? NOW WHERE IS IT?”
Meanwhile, one viewer, perhaps worn out by the trio of exceedingly grandiose viewing parties, concluded: “I have a feeling this album is gonna be overhyped.”
But it’s unclear whether West’s album will ever be released, or if these stadium-sized listening parties are simply a way for him to make money from fans in the meantime.
