What is Kanye West doing in Saudi Arabia? 

Everything we know about the controversial rapper’s visit to the Kingdom.

The stars were out in Saudi Arabia for Riyadh Season’s Battle of the Baddest boxing match, which saw Tyson Fury beat Francis Ngannou. The event attracted footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, boxer Conor McGregor, Bollywood star Salman Khan and rapper Eminem. One face the world was surprised to see, however, was the American rapper and producer, Kanye West. 

Kanye was first spotted at Battle of the Baddest at Boulevard Hall Stadium, Riyadh, which took place on 28 October. He was seen wearing an old Premier League shirt, and had his head partially covered. 

The American music executive, James Prince, shared an image of himself with Kanye on 30 October. On Instagram, he explained: “Nice listening to some of the new album with the homies in Saudi Arabia. It’s hot. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Full of respect, structure, and peace.” 

Kanye has been working on a new album in Florence, Italy. He has collaborated with Ty Dolla $ign, and a preview of one new song dropped at an event in Geneva, Switzerland. Since making controversial comments in October, 2022, the rapper has been struggling to find a major distributor for his new album and used his new trip to share his work. 

Kanye was later spotted at the FACT Award-nominated Smokey Beards Q in Hittin, Riyadh on 30 October. He was photographed with rapper-turned-entrepreneur, Mutah Beale. Mutah was previously part of Tupac’s group The Outlawz, and his rapper name was Napolean. He later moved from New Jersey to Saudi Arabia, converted to Islam and is behind Riyadh’s Smokey Beards Q and MW Café. He posted a picture with Kanye inside the restaurant with the caption “Come check us out @smokeybeardsq you won’t regret, In shaa Allah.”

Kanye hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He first rose to fame as a producer working for Jay Z’s record label, Roc-A-Fella. In 2003, he released his first album, The College Dropout, and gained critical and commercial success. He has sold more than 160 million records and won 24 Grammy Awards. After his controversial comments in 2022, he has been dropped by collaborators including adidas, Balenciaga and Gap.

As Riyadh Season continues, we expect the stars to come out in the capital. Check in with FACT for the latest entertainment news.

GO: Visit https://riyadhseason.com for more information.