Kanye West Puts Wrong Emperor on 'Nebuchadnezzar' Opera Invite (UPDATE)

UPDATE (November 18, 2019): Though Kanye West only recently announced his first-ever opera Nebuchadnezzar, some fans have already spotted a big mistake in his invitation artwork. Yesterday, Kanye posted the invite on Twitter, a shimmering gold Nick Knight-designed card that features an engraving of one of the oldest Babylonian kings in the world: Darius the Great, unfortunately, not Nebuchadnezzar. In response, writer and author Joobin Bekhrad took to Twitter to educate and make clear who exactly was being depicted in the invite, providing a little history lesson: “This is the #Persian emperor Darius the Great, as depicted in a relief at Persepolis in #Iran,” he tweeted. “Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian king who oppressed the Jews — who were later liberated by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire.”

IRAN – CIRCA 2003: Royal figure on the throne, possibly Darius I, bas-relief, Persepolis (Unesco World Heritage List, 1979), Iran. Achaemenid civilisation, 6th-5th century BC. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Umm, no, Kanye. This is the #Persian emperor Darius the Great, as depicted in a relief at Persepolis in #Iran. Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian king who oppressed the Jews — who were later liberated by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire. 🤦 pic.twitter.com/ATgQ68rlsm

— Joobin Bekhrad (@joobinbekhrad) November 18, 2019

In a Zane Lowe interview last month, Ye mentioned how Nebuchadnezzar was a big influence for his Yeezus tour: “[God] is saying, Let me take this Nebuchadnezzar-type character — Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon, and he looked at his entire kingdom and said, ‘I did this.’ I stood on the top of the mountain talking about Yeezus, saying, ‘I’m a God.’ I had a guy dressed as Jesus!” Though the artwork on the invite is a little off, Nebuchadnezzar was, in fact, a significant Emporer. He had the longest reign in the Neo-Babylonian empire and was the most powerful monarch in the kingdom’s history.

Nebuchadnezzar will be directed by Italian performance artist Vanessa Beecroft, featuring music by Peter Colins and Infinite Song, Kanye’s Sunday Service choir. The opera is currently scheduled for November 24 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Elsewhere, Kanye West and Dr. Dre have announced Jesus Is King Part II.

ORIGINAL STORY (November 17, 2019): Following Kanye West’s appearance at Joel Osteen’s megachurch earlier today, Ye has now announced his first-ever opera, Nebuchadnezzar. Taking to Twitter earlier this afternoon, Ye posted the Nick Knight-designed artwork for the program featuring an engraving of the Babylonian king. Based on the artwork, the opera is set to be directed by Italian performance artist and frequent Kanye collaborator Vanessa Beecroft and will take place at the Hollywood Bowl on November 24. The event will also feature Kanye’s Sunday Service performers, as well as Peter Colins & Infinities Song.

During the Zane Lowe interview on Apple Music’s Beats 1 prior to the release of Jesus Is King, Kanye mentioned the titular king while speaking about 2013 and 2014’s Yeezus tour. “[God] is saying, let me take this Nebuchadnezzar-type character — Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon, and he looked at his entire kingdom and said, ‘I did this’…I stood on the top of the mountain talking about Yeezus, saying ‘I’m a God’—I had a guy dress as Jesus.”

Tickets are slated to go on sale for the Nebuchadnezzar opera on Monday, November 18. You can see the Nick Knight-designed artwork for the event below.

For more related news, Kanye recently surprised Houston inmates with a performance.

Invite artwork by Nick Knight pic.twitter.com/U7IBqe1Gxk

— ye (@kanyewest) November 17, 2019