Woah.
That’s about all I can say right now. I’m back at the crib after the Yeezy Season 3 showing, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything I saw. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d say it was “dense”. There were a lot of different things going on, from new music, to new clothes, to celebrities and artists galore.
So I’m going to hit you with a recap of my experiences and give you my thoughts on the show and everything that went down, starting with when we arrived. It was an event to remember, and remember it I sure do.
We arrived at the theater around 2:20 for the 3:15 showing. They had said they’d start letting people into the theater about half an hour early, so we thought we’d jump the gun and show up early so we got good seats. When we rolled up, there were only about 7-8 people in line, but our timing was impeccable as people started showing up in droves seemingly right after we got in line. As I’m a clothes guy, I’ve got to say I wasn’t terribly impressed with a lot of the fits people were rocking. I’m not saying by any means that you have to go as hard as possible, but it is a Kanye West event after all, and since one of the main things the man is known for is his style, you would think that people would want to come correct.
After I finished eyeballing the line, a ticket-taker let us know that we were good to go, and we entered the theater. We posted up in the very back row (best view in my opinion), and waited for the show to start. The seats started filling in (the theater was about half full I’d say), and the whole row in front of us was occupied by what seemed to be the entire Rhymesayers staff, including Slug.
Before the actual show started, the livestream was mainly showing people arriving, the stage setup (which was all covered by a giant tarp), and my personal favorite, a low-slung camera that captured the footwear of the attendees. As you might expect, there were a lot of Yeezys, mostly 350’s (Pirate Black seemed to be the most common colorway), a few pairs of 750’s, some other classic Adidas like Stan Smiths, one random pair of Jordan Futures, and the most rare sneaker of the day, a pair of beige Visvim FBT’s.
Then, the ball got rolling. Kanye arrived, flanked by Travi$ Scott, Pusha T, and other GOOD Music artists. He was rocking a Yeezus dad hat (need one of those), and one of his new “The Life Of Pablo” long-sleeve tees, which appeared to be heavily inspired by Born X Raised’s longsleeves and hoodies.
He wasted no time in playing the first track off of the album, which featured the best Chance The Rapper verse that I’ve ever heard, and the curtain swept off the stage to reveal the models. There were two large elevated squares where a few models stood, and then several other models were crammed in the space between the two stages. The aesthetic of the clothes was similar to the past two seasons, with oversized tops for the men, and several bodysuits for the women. The footwear was very different however. I saw at least half a dozen new boot styles, as well as several crazy high-heeled boots for the women (the clear ones were my personal favorite).
The models stood looking stoic as they had in the past seasons (thankfully the gorgeous Amina Blue made a return..you can’t not love her), and Kanye proceeded to play even more tracks off of his new album, both soulful cuts as well as bangers (there was a track with Future that’s going into instant rotation in the car). Kanye paused to talk briefly a few times, but mainly just let the music play and the clothes be on display. Several of the models put their hands up in a fist for black power, or struck the “hands up, don’t shoot” pose, which was cool to see. I really respected that they were able to make a statement during the fashion show, and it struck me as very meaningful.
As the album progressed on, you got a look at more of the models and their fits. Ian Connor was sitting down on the edge of one of the ledges smoking a cigarette, and Young Thug was doing the same, sans cigarette. Seeing Thugger in the show was a surprise, as nobody seemed to know he’d be playing a part.
After the album concluded, Kanye grabbed the mic to toast to his own accomplishments, and then announced he was releasing a mobile game, called “Only One”, in which you’d help his mother (who passed away in 2007) pass through the gates of heaven. This was a somewhat strange turn, and several members of the audience let out bemused chuckles, as they weren’t sure what was really going on.
After the trailer ended, Kanye said that Virgil Abloh told him he should play it again, and that “ya’ll didn’t get it”. He played the trailer for the game again, and then gave a mini-speech about how hard it was to make a mobile game, then got back to playing music. Young Thug had a new track he wanted everyone to hear, so Kanye deferred to him, and the track (whatever it may be titled) didn’t disappoint. I can honestly say it’s one of Thug’s best, and can’t wait for it to drop. Then it was Vic Mensa’s turn, as he got a chance to play some new music. I’m personally not a huge Vic Mensa fan, but he’s got a banger on his hands as well.
Kanye then proceeded to say that everyone could stay in Madison Square Garden until they were kicked out or shut down due to curfew. He then proceeded to start up “All Day”, and everyone in the theater got loud until the livestream abruptly cut off. Everyone moaned and groaned and made their way to the exits.
When I walked out, someone from Go 95.3 immediately stuck a camera in my face (it must have been because I was wearing Yeezys and an Off-White hat…flex), and asked me what I thought about the show. My mind was still pretty muddled trying to process all the awesome visuals and sounds I’d just experienced, so I might have stumbled over my answers a little bit ( I told the guy without hesitation that my favorite song on the album was still “Real Friends”, so I know I nailed that), but I made my way through it and headed out very inspired by what I’d witnessed in the theater.
All in all, I though the show was excellent. The visuals and set were top-notch, the clothes were dope (especially the boots), and the music was fantastic. I left feeling very inspired, and I can’t wait to see what Kanye does next. In the meantime I’ll just wait for my t-shirt to show up (yes, I ordered the t-shirt package) and the new Yeezys to drop. It was an awesome experience, and one I won’t forget any time soon.
Did you attend the live stream? If so, what did you think of it? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check out our Facebook for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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