Kanye West took over the annual South by Southwest music conference and festival as he performed twice Saturday to enthusiast crowds, when not even on the set list of performers.
The festival, which takes place in Austin, Texas, has historically been a stage for lesser known acts, but Kanye used his fame to impress and promote his G.O.O.D. Music label acts. ‘Ye took the stage under a tent at a party sponsored by Fader magazine and Levi Jeans in a spur of the moment decision.
West also appeared to be having as much fun as his fans as he yelled, “It feels so good to rock for you tonight.” Kanye played numerous tracks from The College Dropout [click to read] as he mentioned Fader was the first magazine to put him in a cover spread.
The concert was streamed online and included ‘Ye’s Universal Records-cosigned talents, Consequence [click to read] and Kid Cudi who dropped his hit “Day N Nite.” Some old friends, Common [click to read] and Erykah Badu helped Kanye close out the party among thousands of ecstatic fans.
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Later in the evening, Kanye showed up as Perez Hilton’s party north of Austin in an old grocery store. ‘Ye voiced his respect for Perez, who rules the gossip blog world, as he rocked the stage unaccompanied. The party was one of the bigger events at the SXSW festival.
British rapper Lady Sovereign, who was set to perform, cancelled right before the show, but Kanye’s performance redeemed the set list for Perez.
