kanye basks in his own glow

Kanye West's space-age style coming to MSG

Friday, May 9, 2008
Last updated: Friday May 9, 2008, EDT 6:28 AM

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Manhattan
SPACE-AGE STYLE
The Grammy-winning Kanye West invades Madison Square Garden on his Glow in the Dark tour.

TELL ME MORE: Time warp: Last summer, when Kanye West announced the theme of his new tour, he hadn't yet released September's Grammy-winning album, "Graduation." This was before the record sales duel with rapper 50 Cent and before his mother died from complications after cosmetic surgery.

None of these events had occurred in West's tumultuous year, but he planted the "Glow in the Dark" seed early, reportedly to lay claim to that name.

This May, he delivers on the neon promise. In large concert venues across the nation, West has been performing with Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco on a futuristic spaceship of a set. The concept is complete with a huge LED screen and a talking spaceship computer named Jane.

Though Kanye fans have been supportive, the entertainer created new controversy last Friday when he attacked Entertainment Weekly magazine on his blog. The magazine's reviewer, Chris Willman, had given his concert a B+ rating.

"Never come [to] one of my shows ever again, you're not invited and if you see me ... BOW!! This is not pop, it's pop art!" wrote West.

Sunday, he took back some of the venom: "I'm sure there are some cool people who work over there and had nothing [to] do with that review. With all that said ... 'I'm still the greatest!!!' lol!!"

In the same post, West admitted to using "profanity" when he had technical difficulties with his set at a Houston concert.

DETAILS: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan. $49.50 to $129.50; sold out on Ticketmaster.

— Evelyn Shih