It’s been over a week since Kanye West — or as he’s called now, Ye — announced he was coming to Raymond James Stadium.
Now he’s not just performing a June 26 concert, but a sequel on June 28.
And Tampa’s still talking.
Between the rapper’s many controversies (including Nazi merch and music) and eye-popping ticket prices, will people go?
For some diehard fans, the answer is an obvious yes — even if that means traveling from across the country. Ye plans to visit stadiums and arenas in Turkey, the Netherlands, Albania, Italy, Portugal and Spain. So far, he has no other North American concerts scheduled for the foreseeable future.
Others aren’t even interested in the free tickets that Ye teased on his website.
Here’s what Tampa Bay Times readers are saying. These comments have been edited for length and clarity.
“Flying all the way from CT for this!!!” — John Savvides via Facebook
“Ray Jay? I’m not sure he could pack Curtis Hixon Park. Then again, free is a powerful draw no matter how bad it is.” — S. SH via Tampa Bay Times comments
“For every single person on this post crying about (how) they don’t like Kanye, there’s 5 people to remind them he made ’808s and Heartbreak,’ ‘Life of Pablo,’ ‘Graduation,’ ‘Late Registration.’ Y’all goofy. Kanye could easily sell out Ray Jay.” – Keegan Richardson via Facebook
“He can give them away but I still couldn’t be bothered to show up.” — User HpNwIp6 via Tampa Bay Times comments
“I’m going. All hysteria aside this man is one of the greatest artists of our time.” — Keisha Wheeler via Facebook
“Kanye better be giving a lot of Benjamins ($100) along w/ those free tickets if wants any audience at all or maybe he can “imply” Taylor Swift might show up.” — P. Pinol via Tampa Bay Times comments
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!