Berliner Tageszeitung - Anger as Kanye West to perform in Slovakia after Hitler song

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Anger as Kanye West to perform in Slovakia after Hitler song

CULTURE 23.06.2025

Anger as Kanye West to perform in Slovakia after Hitler song / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

US rapper Kanye West, who released a song in May glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, will perform at a rap festival in Bratislava in July, the organisers said on Monday.

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Calling West's appearance a "global sensation", the organisers said it was his only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.

West, the winner of 24 Grammys over the course of his career, has become notorious in recent years for his erratic behaviour and increasingly anti-Semitic and hate-filled rhetoric.

The 48-year-old, who has legally changed his name to Ye, released "Heil Hitler" on May 8, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

"Hip-hop visionary, cultural icon and controversial genius YE will perform July 20, 2025 exclusively at the Rubicon Festival in Bratislava," the organisers said on the event's website.

More than 3,000 people have signed a petition against West's performance in the Slovak capital.

The rapper -- a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump -- is "repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history", two groups behind the petition said.

"Kanye West's concert in our city and our country is an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime," the petition reads.

In the "Heil Hitler" clip, dozens of Black men -- wearing animal pelts and masks, and standing in a block formation -- chant the title of the song, as West raps about being misunderstood and about his custody battle with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

The song ends with an extract of a speech by the Nazi dictator.

West has also publicly endorsed fellow rapper and music mogul Sean Combs, who is on trial for alleged sex trafficking and racketeering.

The line-up of the Rubicon festival, scheduled for July 18-20, also includes American rappers Ken Carson, Offset and Sheck Wes.

K. Petersen--BTZ