China’s censorship is among the toughest in the world. So why did it let Kanye West play?

Hong Kong (CNN) — It seemed like an unlikely stage for Kanye West to unveil his new music.

But last month the American rapper – now known as Ye – held not just one but two sold-out “listening parties” in China, a country that imposes some of the toughest censorship in the world.

Playing on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, his first concerts in the country in 16 years, Ye astounded fans by announcing his new album “Bully” and left some wondering why the country’s ruling Communist Party would allow such a controversial artist to perform.

Just six years ago, Chinese authorities clamped down on hip-hop, blacklisting songs and dropping rappers from shows. Its media regulator banned Chinese television from featuring “actors with tattoos (or depict) hip-hop culture, subculture and immoral culture.” One Chinese rapper, PG One, even apologized for lyrics that came under fire for glorifying drugs and sex.

As well as his own frequent lyrical references to sex and drugs, along with cutting social and political commentary, Ye has made a number of controversial statements in his personal life. He wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt in public, and an antisemitic outburst he made lost him an extremely lucrative sneakers deal with German brand Adidas.

Yet, he managed to stage his “Vulture Listening Experience” at the Wuyuan River Sports Stadium in Hainan’s provincial capital Haikou, an arena with more than 41,000 seats, on September 15 and September 28.

He is among a growing number of Western artists returning to the world’s second-biggest economy since the lifting of Covid restrictions.

The Chinese Communist Party, which views popular culture as a key ideological battleground, has long kept the entertainment sector on a tight leash with stringent censorship. But it has also encouraged its growth, especially its domestic industries like film and music, often using them to instill patriotism.

Under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the party has grown ever more focused on ideological and cultural control. The dazzle of stardom and the frenzy of fandom are increasingly viewed as a dangerous, pernicious influence – especially on the country’s youth.

In 2021, the party cracked down on China’s entertainment industry and what it called “toxic” celebrity culture, accusing it of “advocating wrong values” to Chinese youth.

Experts say Ye’s shows could mark a turning point. Allowing him to play shows in China “sends a signal that Western artists are welcome to play in China if they comply with local restrictions,” said Chen Dan, an associate professor at the University of Richmond’s political science department.

Several other American megastars have also recently set their eyes on performing in China.

Mariah Carey performed two shows in Beijing in September, sharing photos on X of her visiting the Great Wall of China with her children. John Legend also played gigs in Beijing and Shanghai in October.

American singer Charlie Puth is also set to perform in China in early December.

Boosting China’s economy

Letting in these Western stars could be a way for Beijing to boost consumer spending, Chen says, as it tries to revive a flailing economy plagued by high youth unemployment, a protracted property crisis and lukewarm consumer confidence.

In recent weeks, the country has unveiled a raft of stimulus measures, including freeing commercial banks to lend more money and making borrowing cheaper. The government also announced rare cash handouts to disadvantaged citizens while pledging subsidies for recent graduates struggling to find a job.

“The primary motivation for approving Kanye West’s performance may be commercial, that is, to revive the cultural and tourism industry,” Chen said. “China needs commercial revival and more cultural exchange.”

Chinese state media has boasted about the economic benefits Ye’s concerts brought to the tropical island, praising the rapper for “not only firing up his fans, but also sparking a surge in the local holiday tourism economy.”

Almost all fans at his first performance came from outside the province, with the highest ticket sales recorded in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, according to state-run China Daily.

Ye’s first show coincided with the first day of the Mid-Autumn festival holiday, and the average hotel occupancy rate in Haikou jumped by about a half to 83%, year on year, on the same holiday a year earlier. Travelers generated an estimated 373 million yuan ($52.6 million) in tourism revenue for the port city, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

China’s growing music market also represents a massive opportunity for artists and labels looking to expand their audiences and generate revenue, and for domestic companies looking to capitalize off the growth.

One of the fastest-growing in the world, China’s music market became the fifth-largest market globally in 2022, according to IFPI, a trade body for the recorded music industry. China’s recorded music revenues grew 28.4% in 2022 from the year prior, compared with the global market rise of 9%, IFPI said.

But the embracing of foreign acts also poses a conundrum for Beijing.

“Local governments always want more concerts and activities to boost [the] local economy, while the higher authorities allegedly require more and more vetting of lyrics and contents,” said Hung Ho-fung, sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Top stars blacklisted

But while there is a strong financial incentive to crack China’s market, the country’s tough censorship and stringent oversight of performances, including the unpredictability of having shows canceled at the last minute, have presented challenges for artists in the past.

In 2015, two fairly uncontroversial American rock bands – Bon Jovi and Maroon 5 – both had planned shows in Beijing and Shanghai abruptly canceled.

Bon Jovi’s management did not address media queries at the time but social media users speculated the decision may have stemmed from the band’s 2009 video for “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” which featured imagery of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing – a taboo topic for the Chinese government. Others pointed to a 2010 Bon Jovi gig in Tokyo that featured images of the Dalai Lama – a staunch enemy of Beijing – on the stage background.

In the case of Maroon 5, no official reason was given but many speculated that permits had been pulled over a band member wishing the Dalai Lama happy birthday on social media.

Similarly, promoters for Oasis said they were forced to cancel mainland China shows in 2009 after authorities reportedly discovered a member of the British rock band had played at a Tibetan Freedom gig two years earlier. The rest of the band’s Asia tour, including a concert in Hong Kong, went ahead as planned.

Other US musicians such as Justin Bieber, Jay-Z and Lady Gaga have been barred from even entering China.

Bieber “engaged in a series of bad behaviors, both in his social life and during a previous performance in China,” China’s Ministry of Culture announced in 2015, without going into details.

American rapper Jay-Z’s debut concerts in the country were canceled in 2006 because the Ministry of Culture “decided to protect the city’s hip-hop fans from nasty lyrics about pimps, guns and drugs,” according to state-run newspaper China Daily.

Some analysts and Chinese fans have speculated whether Ye may have gotten a pass to perform in Hainan because of his brief time living in China as a child. The rapper lived in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing for a year while his mother was teaching at Nanjing University, according to China Daily.

“Kanye West’s childhood experience in Nanjing may have made him an artist to welcome in China,” Chen, from the University of Richmond, said.

Ho, from Johns Hopkins, said it’s too early to tell whether Ye and others’ progress in China will inspire more artists to play there.

Logistical challenges like securing visas, obtaining permits and official approval, play a major role in the decision-making process for bands and their management, which are also concerned about the backlash of having to self-censor and staging up a show deprived of spontaneity.

“This tightening scrutiny, on top of the sluggish economy, makes many foreign performers simply decide not to bother and skip China,” he said.

But he added: “If the recent stimulus works, and leads to a genuine and sustained rebound of consumption, Western entertainers’ calculation may change and (they may) become more willing to take the trouble and the risk.”

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