Amid the blazing electro-beat of “Welcome to Heartbreak,” he questioned the value of material things: “My friend showed me pictures of his kids/And all I could show him were pictures of my cribs.” Performing the album in order, Friday night began with “Say You Will,” as West sang to a woman painted gold at center stage, with fireworks to underscore the heat within these sometimes agonized tunes, created before marriage and fatherhood.

The first of two sold-out nights, it was a high-profile event, with a gaggle of Kardashians seated by the soundboard, including wife Kim, cell phone in hand. All were dressed in white beneath the Bowl’s massive clamshell. Friday night at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, Kanye West let his music speak loudest, leading a rare performance of his 2008 opus 808s & Heartbreak, an eccentric, minimal album now considered among his greatest achievements.įor an album built on little more than drum machines and Auto-Tune, West brought what seemed to be a cast of hundreds, including a full orchestral string section, background singers, an electronic band and 14 women dressed in solemn chador-style garments.

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