Grief fires up Kanye for a gripping show

Near the end of this highly charged show, only the Chicago rapper's third since 58-year-old Donda West died from complications after plastic surgery on 10 November, he performed his tribute to her, Hey Mama.

Head bowed, lit from behind, with the close-up screens switched off, he sang and rapped softly his tale of this single mother's lifelong support of her only child. An angel appeared on the screen behind him. Having become inconsolable when performing it in Paris last Saturday, here he reached the last chorus before stopping. "I got pretty far in that song today. I got pretty far," he said proudly, before dedicating the power ballad Don't Stop Believin', by Seventies rockers Journey, to his mother.

It was an unlikely choice for a cover, but West couldn't be less like other hip hop stars. From his tight trousers to his use of a full band and a string quintet, and the dazzling visual spectacle produced, this was galaxies away from the traditional rap set. He didn't even employ the obligatory hanger-on to shuffle around saying "Uh! Uh!" occasionally.

Past shows have been gripping but the powerful emotions he must be feeling meant that he really grabbed this night by the throat, rapping with a fire and energy that was remarkable to witness. Until the band introductions and Hey Mama he had said nothing between songs, racing from hit to hit and barely breathing.

Tracks which are laid-back on his third album, Graduation, such as I Wonder and the Coldplay collaboration Homecoming, became edgy and passionate. Lines took on greater, more immediate meaning in the context of his bereavement. "That which don't kill me can only make me stronger" in the raging electro of Stronger; "When it feels like livin's harder than dyin'/For me givin' up's way harder than tryin'" in Champion.

Often ridiculed for an ego that should have its own postcode, the shock that he is not invincible has made him more human. He handled the transformation with dignity, and it turns out that when he's not telling you that his are some of the greatest songs of the past decade, in any genre, there comes the realisation that they really are.

Kanye West, Santogold, Mr Hudson & The Library
The O2 Arena
Peninsula Square, Greenwich, SE10 0DX