Will Kanye West Perform In India In 2026?
A new album, an apology letter, and unconfirmed India dates suggest Ye is testing the waters of a comeback (cautiously this time)
Kanye West, apparently, is heading to India again. This time it is alleged it won't be a visit to see the beauty of Taj Mahal or to a travel to an ashram for religious revival or unlike his 2012 visit to launch his menswear fashion label in Mumbai.
The rumour has it the rapper, who also goes by the moniker Ye, is set to perform his first-ever live shows in the country in April 2026. (In 2 months time, yeah)
The news comes via an exclusive from an Indian entertainment outlet, though, for now, the finer details remain conveniently vague. This means no dates, venues or locations have been disclosed yet. Not even if its just one show performance or multiple.
Still, if it does happen, it would mark a genuine first for an artist whose career has rarely lacked for spectacle, controversy or reinvention. Moreover, Indian audiences won't be too surprised to know if the biggies from Hollywood start flocking to India to perform. The country has increasingly become a reliable stop on the global touring circuit, hosting the likes of Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Travis Scott, Linkin Park and Green Day in recent years. West's potential arrival would place him among a long list of international acts albeit one arriving with rather more baggage than most.
It is so because the Grammy-winning rapper in recent years has seen a dramatic curtail following a series of antisemetic remarks and unique tweets that sparked global condemnation leading to Slovakia's Rubicon Festival dropping him from its 2025 lineup and South Korea reportedly cutting ties with the artist. In fact, Prague's mayor publicly opposed any future performances in the Czech capital as subtlety is no longer defining feature of the era.
Nevertheless the Father Stretch My Hands, Pt1 songwriter is currently booked a performance in Europe and would mark his first show there since 2014. The mooted India performance(s) also coincide with renewed attention on Bully, West's long-delayed album that was supposed to drop in 2025.
Updates On Ye's Album Bully
It is now being reported that the project will arrive on March 20 via Gamma, the independent music company Ye just inked a deal with. Ye began recording Bully more than three years ago, and is said to be starring his son, Saint West. Though the timeline for the version of the album arriving in March is unclear (again), sources say Bully was completed before the publication of Ye’s recent ad in the Wall Street Journal , a page-long open letter, Ye apologised for his many years of antisemitic and other controversial comments, grappled with his bipolar disorder diagnosis, addressed selling swastika merch, and reflected on letting the Black community down.
Beyond his album, whether the report around Kanye West's performance in India this year is simply another chapter in West's ongoing cycle of announcements, delays and reversals or a completely churned out of a rumour mill is yet to be seen. As ever with West, confirmation remains elusive. Or, to borrow his own words, "I guess we'll never know."