It takes a strong man to bounce back after a tragedy, but an even stronger man is able to find the strength within himself to take to the stage after losing the one closest to his heart.
Not even a week after the passing of Dr. Donda West, mother of Kanye West, did Kanye find himself gathering enough strength to perform in France, Brussels and Amsterdam in his mother’s honor. According to People magazine, Kanye took to the stage in Paris only to break down in tears when he attempted to perform “Hey Mama” in front of the sold out crowd.
Before he could get into the song, Kanye reportedly said “this song is for my mother…” before losing his composure completely and bursting into tears on stage. A French newspaper, Le Parisien, also gave details on the dramatic events on stage.
“He said the word, ‘Mother’ and just couldn’t go any further,”Le Parisien reported. “A back-up singer, the DJ and a guitar player came over to console him. It looked like he might collapse. He just couldn’t continue. He just stood there in a spotlight, crying while the band continued playing.”
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The crowd encouraged West to fight through the pain and they applauded his strength before Kanye left the stage to gather himself. He returned 15 minutes later to perform “Stronger” and belted out “I Need You Right Now…” to the crowd which was much more than just a lyric to his song – it was West pleading to his fans to give him strength.
Le Parisien journalist Meddy Magloire, who reported on the situation, called the performance “magic.”
West will continue performing in Brussels on Sunday night before attending his mother’s funeral in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Afterwards, he will head back to Europe to perform in London on Thursday.
