Kanye West’s May concert in South Korea cancelled over ‘controversies’

SEOUL – South Korean e-commerce company Coupang has cancelled Kanye West’s South Korean concert scheduled for late May “due to recent controversies involving the artiste”, it announced on May 19.

Coupang and ticket vendor Interpark did not elaborate on the controversies involving the 47-year-old, who is now known as Ye.

The American rapper and fashion designer’s latest controversy involves a song released on May 8 titled Heil Hitler on multiple streaming platforms. It praises Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader and architect of the Holocaust.

It was dropped on the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

In the song’s music video, dozens of black men – wearing animal pelts and masks, and standing in a block formation – are seen chanting the title. West raps about being misunderstood and his custody battle with former wife, American reality TV star Kim Kardashian. They share four children aged six to 11.

Heil Hitler ends with an extract of a speech by the German dictator.

Although streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud have removed the clip, it continues to be streamed on American billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform and has been viewed more than 10 million times as of May 20.

Global sportswear company Adidas, which ended its shoe collaboration with West in October 2022 over a series of anti-Semitic rants, sold the last pair of Yeezys in March.

Coupang and Interpark said tickets that had been sold for the single show in Incheon on May 31 will be fully refunded.

Coupang, whose streaming service Coupang Play was organising the concert, also suspended the sale of merchandise by West’s Yeezy fashion line on May 19, it added. REUTERS, AFP