Wests

Why does anger seem to rule the world today? Pankaj Mishra traces our age of anger to the collision of Enlightenment promises of liberty and equality with empire, nationalism and capitalism. He asks what happens when those promises are broken – and when the Global South turns Western ideals back on the West itself.

In this episode: 

• Pankaj Mishra, Author, Age of Anger

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé and Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. 

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HE is the most controversial man in music, and banned from the UK.

But Brits are now throwing their support behind Kanye West, with hundreds flying out to his latest show in Portugal on Friday.

After then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer led the charge by saying Ye couldn’t enter the country due to past antisemitic comments — which the star has apologised for, blaming a mental health episode — only a handful of his European shows have gone ahead.

Before the ban, he had been lined up to headline Wireless in ­London’s Finsbury Park last month.

Now many supporters are speaking out against his exclusion. One pair, mother and daughter Lauren and Kate, jetted to Portugal and queued for hours holding a flag backing the rapper which read: “F*** Keir Starmer, Scotland loves Ye.”

Lauren, who said they had spent £3,000 on the trip, explained: “He was banned from the UK and it’s shocking because he wasn’t well and he’s apologised for it. Some people are given grace and others aren’t. But we get to come here and it’s beautiful.”

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The concert drove an extra influx of tourists to the area — with barely a single free hotel room left in the region.

Amy, from Ayr, said she booked her ticket a week after Wireless was cancelled in April.

She said: “There’s so many British folk here — so many, just because they can’t go to Wireless.

“To see Kanye in London would have probably been better because British crowds are just better.”

Fans Kane and Kate, who travelled from Portsmouth, said they queued for two hours just to buy merchandise before the gig, while another fan, Alfie, also attended Kanye’s show in Madrid, Spain, the previous week.

He described the concert as “the best show you’ll ever go to in your life,” adding: “My mum loves Michael Jackson and she was like, ‘I can’t believe you’re going to Portugal to see him again.’

“I said, ‘If it was Michael Jackson, you’d do the same’.”

And celebrity fans are sticking by Ye, too — supermodel Naomi Campbell and Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold attended his show the previous week.

As for the concert, I can confirm it’s ­absolutely remarkable.

He performed atop a hemisphere-shaped stage in the centre of the Estadio Algarve, with a spinning globe and other projections being beamed on to it throughout the night.

It meant he was “on top of the world” during the majority of his epic 39-song set, which included everything from songs like Jesus Walks and All Falls Down from his 2004 debut, to King and Father from his latest record Bully.

And there was even a surprise showing from his daughter North, who joined him to perform her song H0w Sh0uld ! f33l and their collaboration Talking.

Kanye was on his best behaviour during the show, with no rants or missteps, clearly determined to let the music do the talking.

Now Brits who flew out will hope the UK takes note — and lets him back in.