As difficult as he is, one cannot deny that Kanye West is one of the most creative minds in the industry. Throughout his career, the rapper has often raised the bar in every aspect of music-making. While the rapper surely receives due credit for his production and lyrical skills, his stage designs are incredibly underrated.

Like Kanye West once said, “Performing live is the reason we make music.” Perhaps one of the greatest live hip-hop performers of all time, the singer always amazes us with his on-stage performances. In addition to the incredible energy and charisma, his stage designs are what set him apart. And recently, a throwback picture of one of Ye’s most iconic concerts surfaced online.

A throwback picture from Kanye West’s Touch The Sky Tour 

Back in 2005, Kanye West announced his second tour for the second studio album, ‘Late Registration’. The album took the world by storm, with almost every song dominating the charts. It was during the time when Ye first brought performance designer Esmeralda Devlin. With the idea of using all the negative reviews the audience gave the rapper as stage design, Devlin helped Ye in designing one of the most creative stages. Ye displayed all the criticism and reviews he received for his music and temperament on the big screen during his performance. 

Recently, the Twitter account Donda Times shared an image of multiple negative reviews that were displayed on stage while the rapper performed. However, one of the most iconic of all reviews was, “The second release by the most obnoxious, egotistical and self-centered hip-hop artist in the history of obnoxious, egotistical and self-centered hip-hop artists.”

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Spanning over six months, the ‘All Falls Down’ hitmaker toured most of the United States and the United Kingdom to promote his second album. Meanwhile, collaborating with stage designer Esmeralda Devlin has an interesting back story.

The iconic duo of Ye and Esmeralda Devlin

Following her design during Ye’sTouch the Sky tour, Devlin became one of the most successful performance designers of all time. Throughout the years, she went on to collaborate with a bunch of big names in the music industry. As surprising as it sounds, Ye hired Devlin just days before his Touch the Sky tour. 

Within two weeks, she helped Ye with one of his most iconic stage designs that left everyone in awe. Since then, the duo has worked together for every tour of the rapper. Another iconic instance where the rapper surprised everyone was when he brought a replica of his childhood home during the ‘Donda’ listening party. 

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What is your favorite Kanye West concert? Comment down below.