Kanye West to Perform at 2013 MTV Video Music Awards
Kanye West will add another chapter to his colorful history at MTV’s Video Music Awards: the Yeezus rapper will perform at the 2013 ceremony on August 25th, which will air live on the network from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. MTV made the announcement on the Brooklyn Bridge this afternoon and shared the news via MTV’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine.
The rapper’s performance of the Yeezus track “Black Skinhead” will mark his seventh turn on the VMA stage, tying West with Madonna as the two artists with the most VMA performances under their belts.
MTV Video Music Awards: The Highlights
In celebration of the announcement, MTV will be playing an hour-long block of West’s videos and performances on MTV Hits and MTV Jams from 4-5pm ET/PT.
Kanye West made VMA history in 2009 when he infamously stormed the stage and interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video to complain that Beyoncé should have won the honor instead. A year later, however, he returned to the VMAs to perform a beautifully staged rendition of “Runaway” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In 2011, ‘Ye and Jay Z teamed up to perform their Watch the Throne track “Otis” at the VMAs. West was notably absent from the 2012 awards show.
The only other confirmed 2013 VMAs performer is Lady Gaga, who will be debuting her first single, “Applause,” off her upcoming album ARTPOP. MTV will be making additional announcements about VMAs presenters and performers in the coming weeks.