US rapper, Kanye West, got London’s Wireless Festival, off to a controversial start as he was booed on the opening night.
The 37-year-old musician, who topped the bill on the main stage, was heckled and festival-goers walked out after he indulged in an expletive-ridden rant during his 90-minute set.
“I’m not particularly angry but they’ve taken the idea of celebrity and tried to make me seem like I’m stupid or something,” he said on stage in reference to the media.
West, who is no stranger to controversy after his scuffles with the paparazzi and the press, continued: “People keep looking at me like I got a problem or something, like I’m not doing something I’m meant to. The lies, the media, they want to make you feel like you’re less to them in their eye.”
The rapper, who played hits including Stronger, Cold, Diamonds From Sierra Leone, Heartless and Jesus Walks, also took a pop at fashion brands Nike and Louis Vuitton, whom he has had feuds.
He ended his long-running partnership with Nike to sign a deal with rival, Adidas. amid a row over royalties and creative freedom.
“Don’t discriminate against me because I’m a black man or a celebrity. I’m not going to mention Nike or say names but if you’re creative, want to create more; this is exactly what I’m talking about. They say, ‘No no no, that’s too much’. It’s about my dreams, it’s about creating, not about the idea of being a f****** celebrity.
“That wasn’t my fault about Nike, they tried to control me. I just want to make something awesome, hang around my awesome friends and save the world.
“A lot of people don’t realise they own power, they own connection. They say: ‘How can Kanye go down his whole career and say so much vile sh*t?’ It’s because I got the Clique,” he said before launching into his track, Clique.
West, who married reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, in Florence, Italy, in May, later showed his softer side with Runaway and If You Love Someone Tonight, where whispers of Kardashian were heard throughout the song.
