Midway through Kanye West's virtuoso production, I prayed for the guy. It was only the second time I've done that for a rapper. The first time was for Tupac Shakur after he was shot near Flamingo and Koval. Saturday night's supplication was much simpler: Keep Kanye West strong.
Love or hate him, the Chicago super producer-emcee is a musical and cultural tour de force. By mixing Jay-Z's narcissism with Pharoah Monch's witticism, blending Christian optimism with a skeptic's pessimism, and marrying inner conflict (sometimes using cliches like women and weed) and conflict resolution (boycotting conflict diamonds that fuel sectarian strife in Africa), West is a shot of Hennessey in a watered-down urban culture.
The atmosphere was thick with excitement and expectation, like the energy at a pre-meltdown Tyson match. And like a boxing megafight, the audience was slow in arriving, waiting for the big guns. Which was too bad, because former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino did an admirable job, delivering an energetic, dance-heavy, 45-minute performance that channeled Patti Labelle's vocal conviction.
West made a grand entrance, accompanied by blinding lights and curtained backdrop silhouetting his crew—a two back-up singers, a "world champion DJ," a violin and harp section and a keyboardist. The next 90 minutes were vintage West, all arrogance and energy, commotion and emotion.
If "Golddigger" didn't bring people to their feet, it was "Jesus Walks" or "Slow Jams" or "Overnight Celebrity" or "Spaceship" or "Diamonds are Forever" or snippets of hits he's produced for the likes of Jay-Z and others. Several times he paused and stood silent. Was he going to counterattack critics? Nope. But he did sneak in a small diss in "All Falls Down": "Drug dealer buys Jordans, crackhead buy crack and George Bush gets paid off of all of that."
If he keeps that up, he'll need more prayers.