Looking back at Kanye West's on-stage meltdown

A famous musician who spends night after night on a stage in front of thousands of people has, quite typically, developed a propensity for the dramatic, the attention-seeking, and the ego-boosting moment of triumph.  

While successful performers are often shy in person, there has to be some desire to want to have countless eyes cast upon them, as eager fans watch their favourite performers exude charisma, talent and skill and if we’re really lucky, a nervous breakdown.

It’s not great to see an on-stage performer have a meltdown because they were triggered by an insensitive fan. But when that performer (Axl Rose comes to mind) has a breakdown because an audience member is trying to take a picture of him or because they look at him in this way or that – then it becomes somewhat melodramatic and self-indulgent and ruins the show for everyone. 

If there is anyone who can trump rock star antics from across the years, then it has to be Kanye West. At a concert in Sacramento, after only three songs into his set, Kanye West forced the show to a skidding halt and then proceeded into a 17-minute long tirade.

He affirmed Donald Trump, the Black Lives Matter movement, and Women’s rights. Nothing was off-limits during this moment which, to Kanye, probably felt like a moment of inspiration, but to the rest of the world, looked like an emotional and psychological breakdown. “A lot of people here felt like they lost. You know why? Because y’all been lied to. Google lied to you. Facebook lied to you. Radio lied to you.”

This was only part of it. Watch the entire on-stage rant below.