Kanye West's Best Surprise Appearances at Other People's Shows

By John Walaszek

One dictionary definition of "surprise" is, "to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness."

Kanye West is a known perfectionist who likes things to play out the way he envisions them within his dark, twisted imagination. So when showing up at a fellow rapper's concert, Kanye likes his appearance to be the very definition of a surprise. While some artists would come out at the start of the song and act as a hype man until their verse, Kanye watches and waits. He is an assassin, coming out at the last possible second to the audience's astonishment. Once the task is complete, he's gone.

Here's a look at Kanye's best surprise appearances (that were caught on camera) over the years, from a Cudi show in 2009, right up to his cameo at Dave Chapelle's Radio City Music Hall residency this past Friday.

Year: 2009

Song: "Make Her Say"

At a Cudi solo show back in 2009, Kanye drops by for "Make Her Say" and also goes into "Good Life." Cudi doesn't make a big deal out of it, simply hitting the crowd with, "Whatcha talking about Ye?" as Kanye strolls out as the crowd goes wild. And even though it sounds like 'Ye forgot some of the opening bars, they still play it cool.

KID CUDI’S BEST SONGS THAT WEREN’T SINGLES

Year: 2010

Song: "Monster"

Kanye sprints onto the stage to show up right on time. The crowd is also too live for Nicki's verse.

Year: 2010

Song: "Run This Town"

Festivals are exciting because everything is amplified. There are more people, more drinks, more food, more drugs, and more chances for crazy shit to happen. Hearing Kanye's voice before he appears is the key to this appearance. Jay bows out and the crowd loses it when they realize that Mr. West is actually in the building.

Year: 2011

Song: "Put On"

Imagine going to a lowkey Jeezy show, and Jay Z and Kanye come out, and then they play the eternal smash "Put On." That song is responsible for so many blown car speakers.

Year: 2012

Song: "Clique"

Casual Kanye comes strolling down the Tron steps right as his verse on "Clique" comes in. "Bow on our arrival," indeed.

Year: 2013

Songs: "New Slaves," "Late"

Tyler tries to force Kanye on stage early when he says, "just come out," but Kanye doesn't play that. Got to get that entrance music going first.

Year: 2013

Song: "New Slaves"

Playing the beat without verification of Kanye's presence is a classic WWF move. All that's missing is JR on the call. "MY GAWD! That's Kanye West's music!"

Year: 2013

Song: "New Slaves"

Drake really sets this up well. Too bad it didn't involve a trap door...

Year: 2014

Song: "Sanctified"

Even a live studio audience can turn up if necessary. Kanye's appearance turned this from standard TV show fare into a special moment.

Year: 2014

Song: "Black Skinhead"

That trap door though! The crowd sounds like they're going over the big hill on a rollercoaster. So much emotion crashing their brains that the only logical reaction is screaming.

Year: 2014

Songs: "New Slaves," "Jesus Walks," "Gold Digger"

Dave Chappelle surprised the crowd during the third night of his 10-day string of shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York and brought on none other than Kanye West to close out the show. It was just like Block Party all over again.