Travis Scott Brings Out Kanye West at His Show in Rome

Travis Scott’s ambitious live premiere of his newest album Utopia, originally set to take place at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, took place in Italy on Monday at the historic Circus Maximus, an event stadium and park in Rome that was at one point the home of chariot races. Utopia, which became Scott’s third album to debut at Number One this week, has received numerous comparisons from fans to Kanye West’s 2013 album Yeezus. So, fittingly, Travis Scott brought Ye out on stage during his show. “There is no Utopia without Kanye West,” he told the crowd. “There is no Travis Scott without Kanye West. There is no Rome without Kanye West.”

The two went on to perform “Praise God” from Donda as well as the hit single “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” from Ye’s 2007 album Graduation. As he exited the stage, the crowd could be heard chanting Kanye’s name. The appearance marks Ye’s first concert performance since a slew of controversies last year, including his now-infamous “death con 3” tweet, as well as podcast appearances in which he expressed antisemitic views.

For his part, Scott’s Utopia performance is the largest scale production from the musician since his Astroworld Festival in Houston ended with 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries. “It’s been only one human being on this motherfucking planet that has ever walked side-by-side with me through anything and every motherfucking thing,” Scott said of Ye.

Scott’s performance was available to stream on the rapper’s website for the price of 15 dollars. Towards the end of the show, before he performed the Utopia single “TELEKINESIS,” featuring Future and SZA, Scott thanked the crowd. “Nobody thought we could put 60,000 people in Rome in two days,” he says, suggesting the show came together rather quickly. In addition to the live performance, Scott premiered the album’s accompanying film Circus Maximus on Apple Music. The movie was directed by Scott as well as acclaimed directors Gaspar Noé, Nicolas Winding Refn, Harmony Korine, Khalil Joseph, and Valdimar Jóhannsson.

From Rolling Stone US.