Kanye West has always made a note throughout his music that aside from his rap hustle he's a student who comes from a background of the art culture. Before embarking on a career in Hip-Hop, 'Ye was a gifted artist who recieved many accolades for his illustrations growing up as a shorty in the Chi where he idolized greats such as Andy Warhol. Kanye's obsession with art is visible in everything from his selection of album covers down to his style of fashion.
Recently 'Ye held a private gala at the MOMA Museum in New York City, further putting his stamp on the art culture. Our good pals over at Buzzworthy were there to catch a glimpse of the action. Peep how the night unfolded.
New York City, NY - Packed bars! Rap superstars! All of the lights! The Museum of Modern Art in New York pulled out all of the above for their Party at the Garden on Wednesday night. The annual fund-raiser, which has previously hosted the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, M.I.A. and Estelle, lined up Kanye West for a cozy after-party performance. The swank gallery was the ideal spot for Kanye, who's shown an affinity for modern artists such as George Condo, who created the cover art for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. MoMA attracted a fashion-forward crowd in cocktail dresses and sky-high heels to its sculpture garden -- oh yeah, and also drew in Jay-Z.
Standing on a small platform hovering 6 feet above the ground and opening with a Stevie Wonder cover, Kanye packed his set with hit ("Power") after hit ("Monster") after hit ("All Of The Lights") after hit ("Runaway"). Save for a few ad libs like "Thank you for loving me when they told you not to love me,” there was only music and smoke machines blasting through the artsy air.
When he wasn’t playing songs off of his latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezy revisited classics like "Jesus Walks," "Gold Digger," "Heartless," "Good Life," "Flashing Lights" and "Stronger" with his signature spitfire gusto. The rapt audience returned the favor -- Kanye definitely saw all of our motherf***ing hands at the concert.
Unlike the rest of his backing band, dressed in crisp white shirts and trousers, Kanye took a more laid-back approach to his wardrobe, wearing a gray hoodie and low-rise jeans while riling up all the party monsters in Louboutins. After he was done running through some of the biggest hits of the decade, it was apparently time to bring in some famous friends.
Jay-Z (!!!) shocked MoMA partiers by appearing at the end of the night for the final two songs of Kanye's set. Everyone’s cell phones flew up as both rap giants stalked the tiny stage and performed rousing versions of "H.A.M." and "Empire State of Mind." It hardly mattered that Alicia Keys couldn’t join them, since the crowd was more than happy to sing the familiar hook for the closing number. It was a fitting tribute to a Manhattan institution, where the lights (and star power) were turned up extra bright.