Kanye West cancels remainder of his Saint Pablo tour after a rough week on the road - Los Angeles Times
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Kanye West cancels remainder of his Saint Pablo tour after a rough week on the road

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After a tumultuous few days in which Kanye West walked off the stage three songs into his Saturday night concert in Sacramento and canceled Sunday’s at the Forum three hours before showtime, the rapper has canceled the remainder of his Saint Pablo tour, according to a representative.

West, known for his between-song diatribes in which he reveals his unedited self, had become increasingly erratic — no small feat — and on Saturday he pushed further when he ranted about a few longtime friends and acquaintances, including Jay Z, Beyoncé and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“I’ve been sent here to give y’all my truth, even at the risk of my own life,” West said on Saturday night. “At the risk of my own success. I’ll give y’all the truth. Jay Z, call me, you still ain’t called me.… Jay Z, I know you got killers. Please don’t send them at my head. Just call me. Talk to me like a man.” (To West’s credit, much of his tirade was to advance the career of his longtime collaborator Kid Cudi.)

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On Thursday during his concert in San Jose, West editorialized about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement before praising President-elect Donald Trump. West has indicated that he may run for president in 2020.

“There’s nonpolitical methods to speaking that I like, that I feel were very futuristic,” West told the San Jose crowd, referring to Trump. “And that style, and that method of communication, has proven that it can beat a politically correct way of communication. And I [agree] with that.”

The rapper ended the week on Sunday when Live Nation tweeted at about 5 p.m. that the evening’s Forum gig wasn’t happening. “Tonight’s show has been cancelled. Refunds at point of purchase,” it read.

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The cancellation affects 19 Saint Pablo dates, including two this week at the Honda Center in Anaheim. West’s itinerary was to include a westward swing through Texas, Florida and Georgia before running up the East Coast and culminating in a Dec. 30 show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

There’s a lot of terrible music out there. For tips on the stuff that’s not, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter: @liledit

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