Kanye West returns to Chicago with a massive reunion show at Soldier Field

Kanye West stopped by his hometown of Chicago last weekend for two sold out nights at Soldier Field, his first performances in the city since 2021. The shows are part of a rocky comeback that kicked off earlier this year with a performance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in April, followed by stops in Tampa, San Antonio and New Orleans. Internationally, however, the tour has run into considerably more trouble: concerts in London, Marseille, Prague and Chorzów in Poland were cancelled due to West's long history of antisemitic remarks and use of Nazi imagery. Great Britain also barred him from entering the country, causing a three night appearance at the Wireless Festival to fall through.

The biggest surprise of the first night was the appearance of Big Sean, with whom West shares a complicated past. West discovered Sean in 2007 and signed him to his record label G.O.O.D. Music. Their relationship soured around 2021, when Sean claimed via a since deleted post on X that West owed him six million dollars. West responded at the time by saying that signing Sean was the worst thing he had ever done. On stage in Chicago, those wounds appeared to have healed: the two performed their 2012 collaboration "Clique" together, after which Sean delivered his own hit "I Don't Fuck With You." Sean addressed the crowd with the words "Chi Town, I love you forever" and added, "Ye, I love you, bro, and I appreciate you." West replied simply, "Love you, fam."

Also on stage during the first night were 2 Chainz and Future. West and 2 Chainz performed "Mercy" together, while Future handled his own tracks "Keep It Burnin" and "Fuck Up Some Commas." A particularly well received guest was Twista, a Chicago legend, who joined West for "Overnight Celebrity" from the 2004 album Kamikaze and "Slow Jamz" from The College Dropout. Vocalist Andre Troutman was featured multiple times throughout the evening on tracks from the 808s era.

The second night expanded the lineup considerably. In addition to Big Sean and Twista, the stage was joined by Young Thug, Common, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, GLC, Consequence, Lupe Fiasco and Kid Cudi, among others. West and Travis Scott performed "FE!N" and "FATHER," while Kid Cudi appeared for "Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1," "Ghost Town" and "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)." Common and Lupe Fiasco also brought recognizable moments from West's earlier catalog, performing "The Light" and "Touch the Sky" and "Superstar" respectively. Chief Keef also showed up for two songs, including the iconic Chicago anthem "Love Sosa."

Both nights featured more than forty songs and spanned West's entire career, from early classics like "All Falls Down," "Jesus Walks" and "Gold Digger" to more recent work such as "Off the Grid" and "Praise God." For many Dutch speaking fans, the tour also carries a particular significance: West played in the Netherlands earlier this year as part of his international dates, before a string of European shows was called off. In the background, there is also the situation in Russia, where a stadium in Saint Petersburg has announced that two planned performances in October at the Gazprom Arena will not be going ahead for the time being.