This is a concept setlist designed as a live performance in four acts.
Kanye West has been a defining pillar for the past two decades, changing what being a hip-hop artist looks like. From being the backpack producer turned rapper who represented the people, to being a polarizing figure in pop culture now being known as YE. His career up to this point has been revolutionary because of his ability to constantly innovate. This Kanye West dream setlist displays YE’s catalog as a cinematic performance, telling a story about identity, fame, and ego. In “The Death of KanYe” the person we once formally grew to love as KanYe West doesn’t simply evolve- he dies.
The concept setlist presents Kanye’s music in a narrative performance manifesting in four acts: The Death of KanYe, Purgatory, The Birth of YE, and the Encore. Each act displays a transformation of Kanye. Being the face of hip-hop once loved by many to being the larger than life figure that we have come to know him as today. Instead of just highlighting his biggest hits, the setlist uses songs from across his discography to tell a symbolic story about the loss of identity, the weight of fame, and renewal of one’s self. The Kanye West many once related to is gone. Replaced by the man who can do anything. The one known as…YE.
ACT Ⅰ- The Death of KanYe
Summary
Act Ⅰrepresents the Kanye West that many of us grew up on. The artist who once represented those who didn’t fit the mold of the culture and spoke up on cultural issues. Through songs like “Good Morning” , “All Falls Down”, and “Touch the Sky”, Kanye is seen as vulnerable, ambitious, and someone who carved a path for those who didn’t fit in. However, the lights became brighter and fame launched him into stardom and records like “Flashing Lights” and “Power” embody this journey. By the time “Runaway” hits and closes the act the realization hits that the Kanye West we saw ourselves in no longer exists.
Setlist
- Good Morning
- Touch the Sky
- All Falls Down
- Jesus Walks
- Flashing Lights
- Power
- Runaway
What I want to happen during this act
- I want the lights/stage to be stripped down progressively throughout the first act. Representing the humility and character being stripped down for whats to come. Something similar to Ye’s 2015 live performance at the Hollywood Bowl.
- Visuals of the College Dropout bear in some way.
Act Ⅱ-Purgatory.
Summary
Act Ⅱ is the manifestation of isolation. This is the moment where Kanye West no longer exists and we are left with the void. We are no longer tethered to the voice that we once resonated with, but left in a state of disconnection with no clear return. What is left is a presence suspending between who he once was and who he is about to become.
Setlist
- Say You Will
- Love Lockdown
- Jonah
- Wolves
- SCIFI
What I want to happen during this act
- I want the “eye” shaped stage to be present like in the current performances we have seen from Ye.
REF. of eye shaped stage…
- I wanted bare bone song renditions from Ye. This is meant to make people feel cold or feel like somethings missing.
Act Ⅲ-The Birth of YE
Summary
Act Ⅲ marks the rebirth of not Kanye but Ye. Where Act Ⅱ left the feeling of emptiness, this act introduces control, and presence. Through songs like “On Sight”, “Feel the Love”, and “Amazing”, the energy shifts from lostness to now an assertion of power. Ye embraces a new identity built on expression and ego at its peak level. This is no longer a search for connection but one defining reality on his terms.
Setlist
- On Sight
- Freestyle 4
- Feel the Love
- KEEP IT BURNIN
- Amazing
- I Am a God
What I want to happen during this act
- We want all the lights,fire, and all the pyro.
- This is the phoenix emerging from the ashes of the unknown so we want all the energy here.
- I also want a rant from Ye because whats a performance from Ye without an “inspirational” speech.
ENCORE
Summary
The encore serves as the final confirmation of Ye’s transformation,where the version we saw in glimpses is now fully realized. There is no return of Kanye West. Just Ye. He is in control of his life and moving on his own terms. However, as “Ghost Town” closes the performance serves to be as a reflection of the freedom that comes from truly letting go of everything that Ye Kanye.
Setlist
- CARNIVAL
- Ghost Town
What I want to happen during this act
- I want an extended version of Ghost Town. This is enlightment, the ray of sunshine that hits the cave dweller in Pluto’s “allegory of the cave”. This is the shackles loosening.
(LINKS TO PLAYLIST BELOW)
What Song would you like to see in the setlist? What songs would you replace?
IDKYET 
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