American rapper YE's show proves to be damp squib

American rapper Ye became the hottest topic on Chinese social media today, yet the buzz had nothing to do with stadium-shaking bass. Instead, the hashtag "Ye left early due to heavy rain" rocketed to No. 1 on Weibo, and the comments are brutal: "Easy money," "Disrespects his fans, disrespects the stage."

YE's Shanghai concert was originally scheduled for 7:30 pm on July 12.

One concertgoer told China News Service that YE appeared on stage more than 40 minutes late, and launched straight into the performance without any apology.

The audience, kept sitting in the rain, had been shouting "Refund" while waiting.

Then, just as he'd slipped on with no explanation, he slipped out without a word, and ended the concert in the downpour after playing backing tracks for 20 minutes.

This isn't the first time YE has been late to his own concert. During the 2024 Seoul stop, he showed up an hour behind schedule, played for only two hours, prompting anger from the local audience, noted China News Service.

Ticket prices for the show ranged from 980 to 2,680 yuan. The 20-time Grammy Award winner officially announced his 2025 Shanghai date on June 23, and quickly drew feverish demand on Chinese ticketing platform Damai with more 50,000 users marking themselves as "interested."