Kanye West dedicates Sunday Service to Astroworld victims: ‘Let’s get back to a peaceful state of mind’

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Kanye West dedicated his Sunday Service to the victims of Travis Scott’s deadly Astroworld Festival.

The musician, who legally changed his name to Ye in October, dedicated the live stream to "the loved ones at Astroworld."

"Let’s get back to a peaceful state of mind with this service dedicated to the lost lives at Travis Scott’s Astroworld," the live stream's description also read.

At least eight people died at the Houston music festival on Friday. The sold-out, two-day event in NRG Park had an estimated 50,000 people in attendance.

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Kanye West's gospel program streamed on Triller, Revolt and YouTube. The 44-year-old shares four children with Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner's older sister. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

During a performance by the rapper, the crowd suddenly surged towards the stage, squeezing fans so tightly together that they couldn’t breathe or move their arms.

The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27, and 13 people were still hospitalized Saturday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. He called the disaster "a tragedy on many different levels" and said it was too early to conclude what went wrong.

Experts who have studied deaths caused by crowd surges say they are often a result of density — too many people packed into a small space. The crowd is often running either away from a perceived threat or toward something they want, such as a performer, before hitting a barrier.

Based on fire codes, the venue could have held 200,000 people, but city officials limited the attendance to 50,000, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said.

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The police chief said authorities were investigating reports of suspicious activity in the crowd during Travis Scott's performance. A security officer told police that he felt a prick in his neck during the chaos and lost consciousness while being examined by first responders. He was revived by the opioid antidote Narcan. (Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage/Getty Images)

"It was the crowd control at the point of the stage that was the issue, especially as the crowd began to surge toward the stage," Peña said.

People in the crowd reported lots of pushing and shoving during the performances leading up to Scott’s set.

In a tweet posted Saturday, the 30-year-old said he was "absolutely devastated by what took place last night." He pledged to work "together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need."

The rapper’s words run somewhat contrary to past experiences fans have had at his concerts. At the same event in 2019, a stampede broke out among the crowd that left at least three people injured. He was arrested in 2017 for inviting fans to bypass security and rush the stage at a show in Arkansas. That followed a separate incident in 2015 in which he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from almost the exact same thing at Lollapalooza in Chicago, according to The Associated Press.

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Travis Scott has a 3-year-old daughter with Kylie Jenner, who announced in September that she’s pregnant with their second child. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

His comments came hours before his longtime girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, took to her own Instagram Story to note that he was unaware of the severity of the situation going on in the crowd.

"I want to make it clear we weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing," she wrote in part. "I am sending my deepest condolences to all the families during this difficult time and will be praying for the healing of everyone who has been impacted."

Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster, founded the Astroworld Festival in 2018. The Houston native has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. He has a 3-year-old daughter with Jenner, 24, who announced in September that she’s pregnant with their second child.

Drake joined Scott on-stage at the concert, which was live streamed by Apple Music.

Fox News' Tyler McCarthy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.