Jakarta. American rapper Ye has defended his Jakarta concert performance after some fans on social media questioned his limited interaction with the audience and apparent frustration while performing his hit song “Heartless.”

The Saturday night show, part of his “Ye Live” performance, drew an estimated 70,000 people to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, according to organizer Raw Vision Collective. The organizer’s final estimate included about 25,000 foreign visitors from 80 countries.

From a planet-sized stage, Ye emerged in an oversized gray outfit, black boots and a full-head covering. Over roughly two hours, he performed 37 songs spanning his career, from the soul-sampling, R&B-inflected hip-hop of his early years to the harder-hitting rap that has defined much of his later work.

Some concertgoers, however, questioned his stage presence, particularly during “Heartless.” On social media, they said he appeared frustrated and repeated parts of the chorus several times. “At this point, bro tryna ragebait,” one user wrote.

Ye pushed back against the criticism in a reply to a social media post, writing, “Bro, this shit was a vibe. The crowd was very loud. It’s called rock and roll.”

The show also drew complaints about sound quality in some parts of the stadium. Raw Vision Collective apologized to concertgoers, saying Ye’s production team had handled the sound system design and stadium layout.

Concertgoer Rico Utoro, 41, said the audio occasionally sounded rough, although he acknowledged the challenges of delivering clear sound across a stadium as large as Gelora Bung Karno.

The spectacle, however, more than made up for Ye’s restrained interaction with the audience, Rico said. Ye had never been particularly interactive with concertgoers, he added, while the elaborate globe, lasers and fireworks compensated for the lack of onstage banter.

The concert generated an estimated Rp 450 billion ($31.7 million) in economic impact for Jakarta, Governor Pramono Anung said. Ticket sales alone reached Rp 328 billion, with the overall estimate also accounting for economic activity before and after the show.

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