During his Circus Maximus performance in Rome on Monday evening, Travis Scott surprised fans with a guest appearance from Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West.
As planned, Scott performed several tracks from his newly-released album, UTOPIA, before veering off the tracklist to bring out Ye for performances of DONDA‘s “Praise God” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.” Per Pitchfork, Scott addressed the crowd prior to Ye’s entrance, stating, “There is no UTOPIA without Kanye West. There is no Travis Scott without Kanye West. There is no Rome without Kanye West. Make some noise for Ye.”
Travis Scott WELCOMES KANYE WEST TO UTOPIA IN ROME OMGG pic.twitter.com/Ni54si7Ytj
— Ye Streams (@kanyestreams1) August 7, 2023
— Rap301 Clips & Stats (@Rap301Stats) August 7, 2023
The Rome show came after Scott’s Pyramids of Gyza concert was canceled due to “complex production issues.” The show was originally scheduled to take place on July 28, but Live Nation Middle East issued an official statement confirming its cancellation one day prior.
Ye’s appearance marked his first performance since he stirred controversy during his Paris Fashion Week YZY Season 9 show with a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and later with an antisemitic threat, among other hateful comments, on Twitter. As a result of Ye’s disrespectful actions, myriad business partners and industry leaders severed their ties with the artist, including adidas, Balenciaga, Vogue and its Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, film company MRC, Chase Bank and others.
Scott is no stranger to public conflict, either. In 2021, the artist held his annual Astroworld Festival at Houston’s NRG Park, where ten fans, ranging in age from nine to 27, died due to unsafe crowd rushes. Following the disaster, Scott and the event’s organizers were met with more than 500 lawsuits. In June, news surfaced stating that Scott would not face criminal charges for his involvement in the tragedy.
See footage from Scott’s Circus Maximus performance with Ye, above.
Elsewhere, the MTA celebrates 50 years of hip-hop with special MetroCards.
