Is Kanye Pursuing a Redemption Arc in Asia?

Last month, footage of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and his four children dancing together at his ¥$ Vultures Listening Experience in South Korea went viral. The clip, along with another of him dancing to Yeezus’ “On Sight,” were rare moments of positive attention for Ye. His no-filter ethos has drastically dampened his star power stateside, as fans in the U.S. have a fielder’s choice of reasons to be done with the iconic artist. Whether it’s his MAGA support, his 2018 “slavery was a choice” statement, 2022’s barrage of antisemitic comments, or his more recent sexual misconduct allegations, he now seems more infamous than beloved. That doesn’t appear to be the case in Asia, where Ye spent the past few months and where his Vultures Listening Experience reportedly helped stimulate China’s economy. 

Ye performed for a packed crowd at Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou, the most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. It was the second Wuyuanhe Stadium show in two weeks for West, who was the headlining act during day one of China’s Mid-Autumn Festival in September. Haikou is known for its resorts, but it turned into Yeezy World for a short time. The L.A. Times reported that the tour garnered $7 million in ticket sales, and Chinese outlet Xinhua projected that the show would gross 373 million yuan (roughly $53 million) for the city. Days earlier, Haikou had been hit with Typhoon Hagi, the strongest such disaster to hit the resort island in 75 years. But fans still flocked there for the show. 

According to British Music business publication IQ Mag, Haikou’s tourism bureau divulged that 95 percent of the attendees of the Mid-Autumn Festival came from outside the island. That speaks to a record hotel occupancy of “nearly 90 percent” (double last year’s average), according to Shanghai Daily. Haikou’s deputy mayor, Lyu Xiaolei, said, “The show had a significant influence, with the vast majority of attendees coming from outside the island, bringing a large influx of tourists to Haikou. These visitors are engaged in duty-free shopping and various cultural and tourism activities, which will greatly boost Haikou’s holiday consumption.”

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The festival show followed the Listening Experience that Ye held in Seoul, South Korea. The full financials aren’t available, but it looked to be another packed show at the Goyang Sports Complex. A slew of K-pop stars attended the show (to some dismay online). To this point, Ye has only had one Listening Experience in the West, at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center. For this album cycle, at least, he’s chosen a locale where he’s less polarizing. 

Asia has played a notable role in Ye’s legacy. He lived in China for a brief time as a child when his mother was a professor at Nanjing University. He posted an Instagram photo of his younger self in China with the caption “BACK” and wore a hoodie with Chinese characters that translate to “told you.” Japanese artist Takashi Murakami designed his Graduation, and Kids See Ghosts album covers. He’s long done shows in Japan, where he’s rumored to be relocating.

If his unabashed Donald Trump advocacy and anti-Biden “presidential campaign” weren’t enough to annoy fans in 2018 and 2020, his November 2022 declaration of going “death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE” and Drink Champs double-down was the death knell for many others. Unlike the response to his 2018 appearance on TMZ, where he declared that “Slavery was a choice,” the Ye backlash wasn’t relegated to angry tweets — he lost his billionaire status. Adidas discontinued their ongoing partnership with the Yeezy brand (though they still share his shoes), talent agency CAA dropped him as a client, JP Morgan closed his bank account, and Balenciaga and Vogue severed ties with him. Since then, reports have surfaced about corrosive working environments at his companies. His former “chief of staff,” Lauren Pisciotta, recently accused him of emotional distress and sexual misconduct, including masturbating in front of her, sending her sexual videos of himself, and also sending explicit text messages; Ye’s lawyers have called the accusations “baseless.” This week, Rolling Stone reported on a lawsuit brought by a former Ye staffer who says he was hired to work as an investigator to trail his wife, Bianca Censori, as well as dig up information on his ex, Kim Kardashian. The suit also alleged that Ye displayed patterns of “erratic behavior” after taking nitrous oxide.

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For many, Ye’s mounting misdeeds have eroded whatever bright-eyed memory they carry of him as the ambitious, soul-sampling dreamer from Chicago. Perhaps Asia provides a refuge from what may be an irrevocably damaged reputation in America. Unlike some stars who say or do the wrong thing and see their earnings potential plummet, Ye is still a global powerhouse. His worldwide fans, for better or worse, have decided that his comments and allegations don’t overpower their connection with his music. And though there were Korean X users who called out his appearance in Seoul, there are others in the region who may not understand America’s social climate. Perhaps the full harm of “slavery was a choice” or “death con 3” doesn’t inherently distress fans in China or South Korea the way it does the Jewish people or Black people directly impacted in the U.S. That means their perception of Ye can be more about his music. 

These are the fans who amped him while he danced to “On Sight.” For that fleeting moment, he was “the old Kanye,” dancing untamably, riveting a packed stadium with a boundary-pushing sound. He looked undeniably titanic; it seems like he has more access to that energy overseas. His seemingly random decision to hold shows in Haikou seems in lockstep with his purchase of a sprawling ranch 11 minutes outside of Cody, Wyoming, in 2019; it seems he’ll go wherever he feels called to. Perhaps these Asia shows are a seasonal blip, and demand will subside. However, CNBC recently reported that the Chinese economy is in bad shape, and the New York Times revealed that the country’s box office sales have dropped by half since 2023. Despite the country’s struggles, Ye’s proven he’s still a reliable box-office success over there, which may bode well for him. He has the pathway to exile himself to countries that will gladly take his economic boost without having to answer the same questions from their constituency that Americans would pose. A new chapter with a new audience might allow him to salvage whatever is left of his legacy — as long he doesn’t piss them off, too.