5 things to know about Kanye West's Atlanta event

The presentation of Kanye West's new album, DONDA, held yesterday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was something legendary. After months of silence, missed releases, denied news, Kanye is back in the spotlight, once again disguised, to perform in front of a huge mass of 42,000 fans. During the show, Kanye did not use a microphone. Notable moments of the evening included a sampling of the vocals of Donda West, her mother and inspiration for the album, and various features, including one with Pusha T and a surprise one with Jay Z. 

It was an epic show, but not without controversy and moments that will make you discuss, for this nss magazine has listed 5 things to know about the new concert in Atlanta by Kanye West.

1. Kim was there 

Kim Kardashian showed up to the event along with her sister Khloé and four children she had with Kanye before this year's divorce. A noteworthy element is that they both wore an outfit that seemed to be coordinated: both in red, she in a jumpsuit and sunglasses and he instead dressed in Yeezy. According to the Daily Mail, the two would talk before the concert about one of the new songs, Love Unconditionally, which would include references to Kanye's divorce and separation from the rest of his family. 

2. Jay-Z was back for a featuring

At the end of the event, fans were able to listen to West's first song featuring Jay-Z since 2016 – the year in which the two participated in the Drake song Pop Style. During her featuring, Beyoncé's husband made a reference to their 2011 collaborative album, Watch the Throne, saying in a line of his song that, according to producer Young Guru, it had been added only a few earlier: This might be the return of the throne. The verse was definitely a reference to the much rumored sequel to Watch the Throne, which Kanye had said was in the works in 2018.

3. The third colorway of the Yeezy Jacket

After the first colorway in Royal Blue and the black one worn at the Balenciaga Couture show, yesterday Kanye showed the public a third colorway of the Round Jacket, the first item of the Yeezy x Gap collection that should be presented in its entirety in the coming months. The item, a recycled nylon jacket in a bright blue, is certainly only the first of a long series of items that will see the light in the coming months, from the already announced perfect hoodie to accessories and other basic garments to create a clothing line that will go alongside that of the American brand. 

4. The tribute to Akira

The all-red outfit worn by West for the event, which did not fail to attract the ironies of some fans, was probably a reference to the anime Akira and its protagonist, Shotaro Kaneda. Even the circular lights that illuminated the white stage recalled the famous scene of the film in which Tokyo is erased by an explosion. Akira is an iconic film and West called it one of his main creative inspirations. Among other things, the rapper had already made up for the Japanese film at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and then replicated some live-action scenes for his video of Stronger.

5. He disappointed some fans

Kanye has never been alien to controversy. And if this event in Atlanta was very popular, there was no lack of criticism: the first of all was the considerable delay of two hours with which the event began, starting only late at night; the second was its short duration, which was exactly that of the album without the rapper addressing the audience; the third was the fact that it was not a real live (Kanye did not even have the microphone) and the songs were played by the stadium's sound system and not sung. Other comments, more ironic, were addressed to his outfit, in which the rapper was almost unrecognizable, which also aroused some perplexities considering how in Georgia in July it is a certain heat.