Last night (Sept. 25), Kanye West performed 1 of 2 "808s & Heartbreak" shows at the Hollywood Bowl. It's been nearly 7 years since 'Ye released his 4th studio album, which is now hailed as one of the most game-changing hip-hop releases of the past decade. For his back to back shows in L.A., West wanted to perform the album front-to-back. He attempted to do just that on night 1, though, unfortunately, the performance proceeded more as a "dress rehearsal" than a seamless rendition of the album.
TMZ reports that the first half of the show was a success, before 'Ye started running into some technical problems. They shared a recording of "See You In My Nightmares," during which Kanye repeatedly says, "stop the track." Apparently, before he restarted the song, he told the audience, "This is the best dress rehearsal I've ever had."
Despite the slip-ups, Kanye did bring out a few of the stars with whom he collaborated on 808s & Heartbreak, including Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson, and Young Jeezy.
Below, watch clips of "Paranoid" (Cudi & Mr. Hudson), "Welcome to Heartbreak" (Cudi), "Heartless" (Cudi)", and "Coldest Winter." We haven't yet found a clip of 'Ye and Jeezy performing "Amazing." Lil Wayne, who featured on the aforementioned "See You In My Nightmares," did not make it to the show.
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Most of the above footage looks pretty incredible, but, as mentioned, there were a few bumps in the road. TMZ also reports that Kanye was late to the official dress rehearsal on Thursday night, and due to the venue's curfew, he was unable to run through the entire show.
Now that Kanye has a full dress rehearsal under his belt, hopefully night 2 will be even better.