Live Review + Photos: Ye and Ty Dolla $ign at Rolling Loud

Marjan Alagheband March 15th, 2024 - 5:37 PM

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign taking the Ethika stage at SoFi Stadium was quite an unconventional, but inventive start to Rolling Loud. After legally changing his name in October 2021, Kanye West now performs and goes by Ye. Experimenting with a different approach for their performance, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign opted for pre-recorded tracks which played as they danced and lip synced to the music.

While their new album, Vultures, played in the background, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign donned black masks creating an ominous and galactic vibe as they moved in and out of the circle of fog at center stage. Being almost fully covered in all black clothing, the performers looked like high fashion, futuristic astronauts pioneering and championing the 360 degree stage filled with fog.

The combination of the shuttering spotlights and fog created the illusion of the artists teleporting as “Back To Me” rung out on the speakers. In addition to the presence of Ye and Ty Dolla $ign, Freddie Gibbs made a stage appearance for his portion of the song. His smooth hand gestures and dance moves were a perfect fit to the pulsing shuttering of the spotlight as it created the illusion that Gibbs was glitching, like a video game.

The biggest testament of Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s stage presence was their chemistry, shown throughout the entire set despite not being able to see their facial expressions. The two clearly mastered body language as they marked their closeness and comfort moving around each other with pats on the back.

The audience was gifted with not only a surprise appearance of Gibbs, but the feature of Ye’s daughter North West and her friends for the song “Talking / Once Again” where the group jumped up and down, feeling the music like she’s done in many of her Tik Toks. As North walked onto the stage with her friends, the crowd was chanting “Miss Westie.” The audience was chanting and belting the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

Another song trending on Tik Tok was played at the latter portion of the set. The duo excited the crowd with their song “Carnival,” which recently made No.1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The echoing bass, which started the song, immediately captivated the crowd and the singing clusters of audience members were heard.

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign finished the night by unmasking themselves as Ye chanted his declaratory lyrics “Crazy, bipolar, antisemite / and I’m still the king.” The song “King” has been met with some streaming outlets censoring or completely disregarding the album as a whole.

The end of the show was made unclear to many audience members. Once finishing “King,” Ye and Ty Dolla $ign walked off the stage without addressing the audience. People turned to their friends questioning if the duo was coming back and some people started leaving. While the period of uncertainty arose, more of Ye’s past hits were played and the audience began to section off into groups of people dancing and taking pictures. Though it was a strange way to end the night, the masses which waited another thirty minutes to see if Ye and Ty Dolla $ign would return testified to the love the audience had for them.

Setlist