<p> By Joe Walker </p> <div> </div> <div>   Hip-hop star Kanye West, dressed in a white suit and white-trimmed sunglasses, looked like an angel on stage in East Lansing on Friday November 11. </div> <div>     Bright white lights beamed from the floor under him, images of a blue sky sprinkled with fluffy white clouds played on a huge video screen behind him, and a group of violin and cello players backed him with heavenly strings. West stood center stage as his suit coat flapped in simulated gusts of wind.</div> <div>     “I gotta testify! Come up in the spot looking extra fly,” West rhymed into his microphone. </div> <div>     The 5,500 fans in attendance sang loudly along as West continued the chorus of “Touch The Sky,” a song from his latest album, “Late Registration,” and theme song for his current tour. Many should remember his stop at Jack Breslin Student Event Center on Michigan State University campus.</div> <div>     Caryn, a 22-year-old MSU student from Southfield, MI said she was blown away. “I like him even more now. Kanye is just awesome,” she said.</div> <div>     Jason of Detroit said West’s stage set stuck in his memory. “I loved how he had all the video images and movies playing on the screens behind him. When the Eurthmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ video came on after [West] finished [performing] ‘Gold Digger,’ I just lost it!”</div> <div>     Deshante of Lansing said the sound system impressed her. “Oh my God … it was bumping in there! With the bass and all that screaming, it’ll be days before my hearing is back to normal,” she said with a laugh.</div> <div>     West’s hour and thirty minute performance consisted of 25 songs from his two multi-platinum albums. The audience at times became so loud that West himself could not hear. At one point he commented that the audience wasn’t loud enough. With a laugh, he threatened to perform a number guaranteed to blow the roof off. West then performed his chart-topping single “All Falls Down.” The screams that followed was intense.</div> <div>     During a portion of the show dedicated to West’s personal life, which included performances of “Hey Mama,” “Roses” and “Through The Wire,” West reflected on hip-hop classics that inspired his musicianship. His DJ, 8 Track, played portions of “Uptown Anthem” by Naughty By Nature, “Check The Rhyme” by A Tribe Called Quest, and “She Keeps On Passing Me By” by Pharcyde. The vibration of the audience was felt in the air and the floor!</div> <div>     Earlier that night, Fantasia, the winner of ‘American Idol’ competition, belted out tunes from her platinum debut album, “Free Yourself.” Her voice was powerful and her stage presence was moving.</div> <div> </div>
News For, By and About People