The society announced the news on Facebook yesterday after "a great deal of hard work and extensive negotiations." Naturally, when the man himself actually took to the stage, there was much excitement. More than 1,600 people said they were attending on Facebook.
Professor Kanye West in #Oxford today. Couldn't decide which hashtag I liked more… #KanyeBelieveIt #YeezOx #KanyeInOxford #YesWeKanye
- Kate Pritchard (@pritchardkate) March 2, 2015
Students kept the public updated about their special guest on a standalone publication called "Versa" and tweeted about the goings on using hash tags such as #YesWeKanye. The Tab, the country's cross-uni student newspaper, also did a live blog on Twitter.
"We have the ability to approach our race like ants, or we have the ability to approach our race like crabs." #YeezOx
- The Tab Oxford (@TheTabOxford) March 2, 2015
Kanye got going at 3pm and talked for around half an hour. Versa noted initial doubts that the whole project could have been a "monumental troll," but just before the hour mark confirmed that he was in the building. The President of the Oxford University Student Union tweeted this photo of the event:
Packed lecture theatre #YeezOx pic.twitter.com/lACFVpt0zb
- Louis 'OUSU' Trup (@OUSU_Pres) March 2, 2015
We all know about West's antics, odd thoughts, and love of Steve Jobs - and his university "lecture" didn't disappoint. It follows a very different setting to his Nando's exploits last month, and his most recent moment of absurdity at the Grammys, of course.
Here are a few highlights from The Tab on Twitter:
"Obama calls the home phone, by the way." #YeezOx
- The Tab Oxford (@TheTabOxford) March 2, 2015
"Chris Rock & everyone else at every single media publication called My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the best album of the last 25 years."
- The Tab Oxford (@TheTabOxford) March 2, 2015
"Clothing should be like food. There should never be a $5000 sweater. You know what should cost $5000? A car." #YeezOx
- The Tab Oxford (@TheTabOxford) March 2, 2015
K: "You're looking for this moment where you sit in your BMW and you look at all of the work that you've done and how big your house is, and somehow you think you're gonna get that level of joy that my daughter had when she was seeing those wolves."