Kanye West originally envisioned his fall tour as a celebration not only of
his success, but of two artists he's produced via his Good Music label:
fellow Chicago rapper Common and R&B singer John Legend. But something went
awry."That's what I'm wondering: What happened to it? I wish you could've
talked to them," West said. (Common dropped out to accept a film role, while
Legend opted for a headlining tour of his own.) "But Common is still a good
friend of mine, and there wouldn't be a 'Late Registration' if it wasn't for
Common. I made it while we were working on 'Be,' so there are completely
Common-esque beats, and he helped me find my new sound and develop as a
lyricist and as a person."
Even without Common and Legend, "The Touch the Sky Tour" is a stellar
accomplishment. Two and a half decades into hip-hop's development, too many
performers still treat the concert arena as an afterthought, lazily going
through the motions with short sets padded with left-side, right-side
shout-outs. West's ambitious, well-staged and nearly two-hour show ranks
with the best tours hip-hop has ever produced, and it secures his position
as a one-of-a-kind performer.
To help realize the elaborate orchestrations Hollywood film composer Jon
Brion crafted for "Late Registration," West augments his DJ and
percussionist with four violin players, two cellists and a harpist -- all
women dressed in black, a la Robert Palmer's videos. (There's that '80s
obsession again.) He gets some assistance from three up-and-coming rappers
-- Consequence, GLC and Really Doe -- but he commands the spotlight,
delivering almost every track on his two albums without truncating the songs
or merging them into abbreviated medleys.
There is plenty of eye candy: In addition to numerous costume changes and
flashy videos and lighting, West makes good use of props, singing "Roses" to
his ailing grandmother beside a hospital bed and re-creating his teenage
bedroom during "Spaceship." But the show succeeds on the strength of his
rapping and puts the lie to the criticism that he's a great producer but a
weak rapper.
In fact, West said he will no longer produce other artists, saving his
best beats for himself. And he is already thinking ahead to working with
Brion -- "a great friend and a great person who knows so much about soul
music" -- on his third album, "Graduation."
"I'll start recording in about a week: I have about four songs for the
new one that I had left over," he said. "There are so many people that want
to work with me, and it's not like I don't want to work with them, but it's
like I can't make this style of music for everyone. It's like, 'No, sorry.'
I'm an artist."
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