Kanye West drops out of Coachella

American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has cancelled his scheduled performance and pulled out of Coachella, the largest music festival in North America.

Ye had been scheduled to perform on the closing night of the two-weekend festival taking place April 15 to April 17 and April 22 to April 24 in California. Variety confirmed that he will not be performing for reasons unclear. However, sources claim the rapper had not prepared for the performance. This is not a first for the Praise God singer — Ye also pulled out of a planned headlining appearance at the festival in 2020 which was later postponed due to the pandemic.

This does not come as a surprise considering the events that have unfolded in the last few months — the rapper's "concerning online behaviour" led to his removal from the Grammys that took place on Sunday, April 3. West has a history with mental health crises as he suffers from bipolar disorder — the 'Flashing Lights' singer had canceled his 2016 Saint Pablo tour after he was hospitalised.

Coachella’s first two nights will be headlined by Harry Styles and Billie Eilish. The festival had prepared for Ye's unpredictable behaviour by placing EDM titans Swedish House Mafia in an "unspecified spot" on the lineup to replace the rapper in case he pulls out.

The original headliners of this 21st instalment of the festival — first announced in January of 2020 — included American rapper Travis Scott who was barred from performing after the AstroWorld concert tragedy in November where since 10 people died in a rush toward the stage and has been keeping a low profile ever since.

The festival is scheduled to take place at its usual location of the Empire Polo Ground in Indio, California and has already sold out its 125,000 per-day tickets.