\n\tKanye West<\/a> may have appeased his most diehard fans last night at Rolling Loud, but he likely didn\u2019t win over the millions of skeptics who were open to giving the \u201cCarnival\u201d rapper another chance following his behavior over the last two years.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen the Vultures 1<\/em> star took the stage at Rolling Loud Thursday night (Mar. 14) at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., most weren\u2019t expecting West to apologize for the hurtful, antisemitic comments he has made over the last few years.<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, he failed to do the one thing that more than 50,000 fans had come out expecting him to do: perform his music. Instead, he and Ty Dolla $ign<\/a>, his collaborator on his new album, Vultures 1<\/em>, took the stage without microphones and danced, vibed and waved their hands around while tracks from the album blared over the loudspeakers. In fact, neither artist rapped, sang or spoke during the performance, which took place during the annual hip-hop festival\u2019s opening night.<\/p>\n \n\tDespite the insistence from West and his followers that Thursday\u2019s performance was high art, most fans left the hour-long performance looking disappointed and confused.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWas I just tricked?\u201d Gloria Appel, 22, from El Segundo, Calif., asked her group of friends as they walked back to their cars. One of her companions offered that, if anything, it was fun dressing up with friends and going out for the night \u2014 prompting the group to nervously laugh before scurrying away.<\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s a larger performance art aspect to the show, Ty Dolla $ign suggested in an interview he and West gave to radio personality Big Boi for XXL<\/em> released this morning but recorded prior to<\/a> Thursday\u2019s show. \u201cIt\u2019s still better than other people\u2019s shows that have a mic,\u201d said Ty during the chat.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat does it mean to \u201cperform\u201d a concert in 2024, when DJs play prerecorded mixes and vocalists sing over backing tracks? For the last two months, Ye and Ty have made millions<\/a> from hosting \u201clistening party\u201d events around the world \u2014 effectively the same thing they did Thursday night \u2014 in the process generating some praise and lots of press for West as he once again attempts to revive his career. It also puts cash in Ty\u2019s pocket, who, on the Vultures 1<\/em> track \u201cPaid,\u201d fittingly raps: \u201cI\u2019m just here to get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThat same quote was retweeted Thursday night by The Rolling Loud team who spent weeks dodging specifics on the show. What was communicated to fans was that the concert was supposed to be different than the listening parties. During an X Spaces session with fans on Feb. 28, Rolling Loud co-founder Tariq Cherif <\/strong>told participants, \u201cI\u2019m fully prepared for Ye to perform and Ty Dollar $ign to perform. Whether or not they decide to grab the mic is up to them. That\u2019s what they\u2019re contracted to do.\u201d Afterward, for clarity, a rep for the festival confirmed with Billboard<\/em> that West and Ty Dollar $ign were \u201ccontracted to perform a live performance.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n\n
![\"Kanye](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n