Kid Cudi kicked off his Rebel Ragers tour in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday (April 28), dedicating a performance of the Kids See Ghosts track “Reborn” to the artist formerly known as Kanye West.
The two artists, as anyone reading this is aware, have a long and complicated history dating back more than 20 years. Their undeniable chemistry in the studio was on full display with 2018’s Kids See Ghosts album, which at one point seemed poised to be getting a sequel.
Ultimately, a follow-up never materialized, with Cudi more recently suggesting that he and Ye may never be able to tap into their shared sense of creativity again.
At Tuesday’s Rebel Ragers tour opener, as seen below, Cudi dedicated his performance of “Reborn” to Ye.
“This one’s for Ye,” he told the Phoenix crowd, later urging them to “sing this loud so Ye can hear you.”
“Tonight was incredible, incredible. Like, unreal,” Cudi later said of the Phoenix show in an Instagram Stories update. “I am so fucking hyped. Phoenix, thank you for showing love. … I felt it and I’m looking forward to feeling it 32 more times, straight up.”
Cudi, whose feature-length directorial debut Doe is expected soon, will next bring his Rebel Ragers tour—featuring M.I.A., Big Boi, and more—to Albuquerque, New Mexico on Wednesday. The tour will continue from there with scheduled stops in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and beyond.
Ye, meanwhile, is fresh off the release of Bully, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album’s released was preceded by the publication of a full-page Wall Street Journal ad in January in which the 24-time Grammy winner detailed his struggles with bipolar disorder and acknowledged the hurt he had caused with his past hateful remarks.
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change,” Ye wrote in the WSJ statement, which later received an addendum in response to controversy over his Wireless Festival booking. “It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite.”
Wireless Fest ended up being canceled, with additional Ye shows having also since been called off or postponed amid similar pushback.
