Kanye West hit by cancellations gets prime minister's backing

Kanye West, despite facing a string of backlash from his return to the music scene, has seemingly been backed by a prime minister.

He is Edi Rama, the head of the Albanian government.

His show of support came against a backdrop of criticism arguing ‘how a rapper with an anti-semitic past’ could perform in the European country.

As Ye is set to hit the stage on July 11 on the outskirts of Tirana – the capital of Albania – where a stadium has been built for the show at a cost of €4.2 million.

In the wake of backlash, Rama doubled down on his decision, hailing the event as the country's biggest concert.

Taking to Facebook, he wrote, “With the stadium built specifically for the biggest concert this country has ever seen, an event for which people from 80 countries have purchased more tickets than for the Conference League final in Tirana, which will transform Tirana into the global capital of musical spectacle this Saturday, July 11, I wish you a wonderful day.”

Still, Albania’s Jewish community, as well as opposition politicians, opposed the concert because they said the show is akin to giving a platform to arguably the most controversial rapper.

West, meanwhile, has tended to apologize for his previous antisemitism, blaming his bipolar disorder for the outbursts.