Challenge

For his first full live shows in the United States in five years, award-winning rapper Ye needed a PA as showstopping as his massive spherical stage placed at the center of Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, notable for its highly reflective surfaces. The in-the-round show therefore required exceptional precision in the vertical plane and seamless coverage along the horizontal axis while also providing the low end necessary for Ye’s performance.

Solution

A Clair Global team designed and deployed the unique Cohesion PA, featuring eight hangs of CO12 arrays in a ring arrangement bolstered by additional CO10 hangs. Nearly 100 CP218 II+ subwoofers (48 flown and 48 on the ground) provided low end extension. “We implemented four two-cluster end fire arrays with each cluster pointed at a short or long side; on the shorter throw sides, we tucked the subs in behind the arrays,” said Tour Support Engineer Andrew Dowling. Additional CO10 were placed on the ground in twenty stacks of two as fill speakers. New Cohesion amplifiers were used with innovative flown housing technology, which also acted as a network bridge and DSP for other facets of the audio system.

Result

The Clair Global team selected a curved mono subwoofer array on the shorter side of the stadium and an end-fire array on the longer throw sides (with a path for the artists) for exceptional output. “It gave us the coupling of the CO10 array and two sub arrays for maximum impact,” said Dowling. The flown subs provided low end for seating in the upper bowls, and the CO10 ground stacks completed the full-stadium coverage. The new amplifiers and the flown amplifier rack “worked fantastic” and aided in controlling the low end, according to Crew Chief Paul Jump. A litany of guest artists over the two nights included Don Toliver, Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott, and Ye’s eldest daughter, North West, who each performed alongside the accompanying full band to adoring crowds.

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