The date is July 24, 2020. Thousands of people open up Spotify and pull up Kanye West’s profile expecting to find his new album, “Donda.” Unfortunately, the only thing they found was “JESUS IS KING”. Elusive album rollouts are a common affair with Kanye, yet Kanye fans were unaware that this would be the beginning of a yearlong odyssey where Kanye would struggle through multiple mental health crises while juggling a presidential run, a Yeezy Gap apparel drop and an unfortunate divorce with Kim Kardashian. Amid all this chaos, Kanye and his team teased snippets, artwork, and potential, but ultimately, treacherous release dates for “Donda,” named in honor of Kanye’s late mother, Donda West.
Almost exactly a year after “Donda” was initially supposed to be released, Kanye premiered his album at a listening party in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. A livestream was also made available through Apple Music, where fans could get their first view of the long-anticipated release, which appeared unfinished during the performance. Allegedly, a few rappers recorded their verses days before the event, and JAY-Z was rumored to have recorded his verse just four hours before the session started. The performance featured Kanye in a red outfit on a minimalist set with features from various artists. Once the event ended, the album was never uploaded.
After the event, Kanye announced that he and his team were staying in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium until they finished “Donda.” Fans immediately started making memes about how Kanye was hijacking a stadium and keeping his collaborators captive. Audiences could also spot Kanye around the stadium at various events. In response, Kanye teased his fans by relating his living situation to the Phantom of the Opera’s living situation with both creators being misunderstood monsters, struggling to make art underneath an entertainment venue.
A few days later, Kanye’s team announced that the album would release following another Mercedes-Benz Stadium listening event on Aug. 5, 2021. This event had Kanye sporting punk, militaristic clothing while performing on a stage decorated with nothing but a small bed, in reference to his new living space. The tracklist had been updated and reordered with new features and better production. The event ended in Kanye’s typical flamboyance, with Kanye being suspended above the stage and lifted into the air to make his exit with dramatic, churchlike lighting. Unfortunately, after the event ended, the album was still not released.
On the road to the next Donda announcement came a few interesting detours. First, Drake reignited his beef with Kanye and Pusha T by calling them burnt-out and old on Trippie Redd’s “Betrayal.” Kanye responded by posting a threatening chat accompanied by an image of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker to Instagram, with one of the recipients appearing to be Drake. Kanye then posted Drake’s Toronto address on his Instagram. After that, Kanye legally filed to change his name from Kanye Omari West to Ye. Also, Kanye announced his “Donda Stem Player,” a $200 music tool allowing users to customize any song by remixing the production.
On Aug. 18, Kanye announced that a third listening session was set for Aug. 26 at Soldier Field in Chicago, with the album finally releasing shortly after. For this performance, Kanye built a replica of his childhood Chicago home onstage and brought Marilyn Manson and DaBaby to the event, who also recorded performances for the album. The album had updated production yet again and removed and added different verses from various artists. Kim Kardashian also appeared onstage in a wedding dress where the ex-couple recreated their wedding. After that, Kanye set himself on fire. The next day, there was still no album on streaming services.
Rumors followed saying that Kanye would release “Donda” Sept. 3, the same date as Drake’s new album, “Certified Lover Boy.” However, in a surprising twist, the album was released Aug. 29. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Kanye posted text messages with his collaborators, detailing that DaBaby’s verses were not approved yet, so Kanye was unable to release the album Aug. 28. Kanye then posted to Instagram, stating that Universal released “Donda” without his approval, so who knows if the album will even stay released or if the tracks will remain as they currently are? The only clear thing is that “Donda” is a historic album release that only an artist like Kanye could pull off.

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The Guardian