Where is Kanye West? Tracking the rapper's year-long disappearing act

Maeve McDermott | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Kim Kardashian confirms third baby Kim Kardashian has confirmed reports that she and husband Kanye West are having a third baby. Bob Mezan reports. Video provided by Reuters

Twelve months of no Kanye.

In November 2016, Kanye West was hospitalized after abruptly canceling the remainder of his Saint Pablo tour, following a stretch of erratic and angry behavior.

Since then, the rapper has spent the past year largely out of the public eye, deleting his social media profiles and only recently returning to the stage, performing with Kid Cudi on Nov. 4 in his first concert appearance since his hospitalization.

But before West, 40, resurfaced onstage, his career had largely gone dark.

November 2016: West's onstage breakdown

The rapper’s troubles began during his Saint Pablo tour stops last fall, shocking fans during a Nov. 17, 2016, performance in San Jose, Calif., by declaring he would’ve voted for Donald Trump if he’d voted at all. On Nov. 20 in Sacramento, he took aim at Beyoncé and Jay-Z with an expletive-laden screed before leaving the stage early. Fans were so upset that Ticketmaster refunded their tickets.

Days later, West canceled his 21 remaining tour dates and was hospitalized to be treated for exhaustion and dehydration. He spent more than a week at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, including Thanksgiving, before he was released to continue treatment on an outpatient basis.

December 2016: West and Trump hold infamous summit

West caused a stir on Dec. 13 when, in only his second public appearance since leaving the hospital, he headed to Trump Tower for a meeting with President-elect Trump. After a half-hour-long meeting, West and Trump appeared together in the lobby, where they posed for photos. "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," West explained later on Twitter. "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change."

Trump later told the press that he had "discussed life" with West, whom he called a friend and a "good man."

February 2017: West skips Fashion Week, the Grammys

West earned eight nominations for the 2017 Grammys, but didn’t show up to the ceremonies on Feb. 15. While the rapper’s 2016 album The Life of Pablo wasn’t exactly snubbed by the Recording Academy, the release was excluded from the major categories, marking another year in which the awards for song and album of the year eluded West.

The afternoon of the Grammys, which coincided with New York Fashion Week, West's Yeezy Season Five presentation arrived on the runway. While wife Kim Kardashian sat in the front row, West did not appear to be in attendance at the show, declining to greet the crowd at the end.

May 2017: West deletes his accounts

West’s disappearing act continued into the spring when he skipped the Met Gala, fashion’s coming-out party that he and Kardashian had attended in years past. Kardashian walked the red carpet solo.

Fans were shocked when West’s social media accounts disappeared from the Internet shortly after, including his infamous Twitter.

June/July 2017: West hits the studio, separates from TIDAL

After the lowest-profile year of West's life, various people in the rapper's orbit began confirming that he was working on new music. Def Jam CEO Steve Bartels told Variety in a June interview that "Kanye is working," before paparazzi caught West entering a Los Angeles-area recording studio with Migos in July. Partynextdoor claimed to have a collaboration with West on the way the week after.

West also began easing back into the public eye this summer, from working out with 2 Chainz and the UCLA Bruins basketball team to visiting artist Takashi Murakami's studio with Kid Cudi.

Monday morning in the gym, and Kanye West & 2 Chainz roll by your offseason workout. #GoBruins #OnlyInLA A post shared by UCLA Men's Basketball (@uclambb) on Jul 3, 2017 at 10:12am PDT

Long time no see @kidcudi and #kanyewest. Thank you for coming to my studio. It was fire 🔥🔥🔥 A post shared by Takashi Murakami (@takashipom) on Aug 11, 2017 at 3:41am PDT

While West may have been hitting a creative groove over the summer, his business relationship with TIDAL was in turmoil. Billboard and Variety confirmed that West’s attorneys sent letters to the streaming service demanding payment for his marketing efforts in support of The Life of Pablo, with West claiming that he attracted 1.5 million new subscribers to the site after it released his new album exclusively.

September 2017: Yeezy Season Six is a no-show

After West skipped February's Fashion Week presentations, fans hoped that he would show his face during the debut of his fall collection. In July, Women's Wear Daily reported that West planned to return for his sixth NYFW show during the fall.

Yet, the show was reportedly canceled the week before its Sept. 13 debut, according to an email from the show's beauty partner, Redken, obtained by W magazine and Business of Fashion.

A Yeezy show didn't end up happening at the fashion weeks in either NYC or Paris, with West sitting out the entirety of fashion month this fall.

October/November 2017: West's musical return?

After ghosting on fashion week, West has signaled in recent weeks he may be ready to step back into the spotlight, starting with his feature on Dat Side, a new song debuted Oct. 31 from his GOOD Music label mate CyHi the Prynce.

One week later, West surprised a hometown crowd in Chicago when he came onstage during a Kid Cudi concert, his first performance since his hospitalization. The two rappers performed West's Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1, with Kid Cudi doing most of the rapping as West stood by.

Are these two incidents proof that West is ready to return to music, or just false flags before the rapper returns to his newly private life? Considering West and Kardashian are expecting their third child to arrive soon via surrogate, West may choose to continue savoring his privacy for the near future.