Kanye West Tells Wheelchair-Bound Concertgoer ... Stand Up or I'm Not Rapping!

Kanye West refused to continue performing Friday night at his Australian concert until someone in the crowd stood up with everyone else ... problem is, the person was in a wheelchair.

Kanye was playing a gig at the Qantas Credit Union Arena in Sydney when he stopped rapping mid-song ... ordering the crowd to get on their feet before he'd continue.

An eyewitness told the Daily Mail Australia that Kanye said, "I can't do this show until everybody stand up.  Unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and s**t."

One person in the crowd waved their prosthetic leg in the air and Kanye said they could sit.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/13/kanye-west-concert-wheelchair-not-rapping-stand-up/#ixzz3DFhlv1Vy

Shortly after Kanye spotted another person in the crowd sitting down and once again stopped the show -- then sent one of his employees into the crowd to make sure the person was handicap.

Once the hired gun confirmed the disability ... Kanye said "it's fine" and rapped on.

As you may recall ... Kanye gifted his microphone to a wheelchair-bound concertgoer earlier this summer -- so it doesn't appear like he's got any issue with the disabled.

We also spoke with someone in the crowd ... and they say Kanye clearly didn't mean to offend -- the whole thing is just being blown out of proportion.