Kanye West "Performs" At Japanese Pro Wrestling Event

BYGabriel Bras Nevares4.5K Views
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American rapper Kanye West poses before Christian Dior 2015-2016 fall/winter ready-to-wear collection fashion show on March 6, 2015 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images)
What constitutes a "performance" these days is being stretched extremely thin... fans didn't even have the luxury of a listening party.

When you hear "performance," you would assume that it's an artist doing whatever they did in their music in a live setting, but Kanye West might be the biggest artist alive who's actively challenging that definition. Moreover, a clip recently surfaced of him "performing" at a Japanese pro wrestling event, although he was just in the ring miming "CARNIVAL" to the crowd. Still, we can't criticize too much; after all, seeing Ye (even with his currently misguided and tarnished public-facing persona) is seeing Ye. Some other reports on the matter suggest that Alexander Wang organized this event over the weekend with Joshi promotion TJPW and that Ty Dolla $ign was in attendance, as well.

Furthermore, this was a bizarre thing for folks to witness online with no context, but it seems like folks had a great time nonetheless. Of course, Kanye West has a lot to deal with whenever he returns to the United States, although he's probably handling that wherever he goes. A former Yeezy employee recently sued him for alleged sexual harassment, and other allegations emerged about his supposed misconduct. It included a lot of salacious claims accusing Ye of making non-consensual sexual advances and sending inappropriate texts and images.

Kanye West Graces Japan With A Pro Wrestling Event Appearance

As far as the music side of things, Kanye West is in some hot water right now for much more light, but almost equally disseminated reasons. If you didn't catch it online over the past few days, Rich The Kid previewed what's presumably a verse from Ye for the "Gimme A Second" remix off of Rich's upcoming album, Life's A Gamble. There was a particularly bad "sexist" bar somewhere in there that was a hot topic on sites like Twitter for a second. But just like with most of the Chicago artist's many antics, folks quickly moved onto something else.

Meanwhile, we still have very little idea of how the aforementioned sexual harassment lawsuit will develop. Kanye West plans to countersue the former Yeezy employee and denied any and all wrongdoing via his legal team. As such, maybe this could turn into a nasty court battle or they will reach a private settlement. Either way, it's a blemish on an already chaotic 2024 with as many highs as lows in many fans' eyes.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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