Finally, Kanye West has released his new studio album Donda. The record arrived well after the end of the rapper’s third listening party, a Chicago event that controversially featured appearances from Marilyn Manson and DaBaby, who also rapped on a track that previously had a guest verse from Jay-Z. Additional guests on Donda include the Weeknd, Jay Electronica, the Lox, Young Thug, the late Pop Smoke, Pusha T, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, and Kid Cudi. Listen to Kanye West’s new album Donda below.
West first announced Donda last summer, after previously saying that he’d release a new album titled God’s Country. He released “Wash Us in the Blood,” with Travis Scott, and shared different versions of tracklists for the album before teasing another new song called “Believe What I Say.” On July 20, 2021, a few days before the album was first due to arrive, West teased Donda’s “No Child Left Behind” in a Beats ad that featured track star Sha’Carri Richardson. He also sold the Donda Stem Player in conjunction with the album’s release.
West was scheduled to put out Donda following the first listening event on July 22, but postponed the release, announcing a new release date of August 6 via a representative just days later. (The album, of course, did not come out on August 6.) Between the July 22 and August 5 events, West appeared to take up residence within the Atlanta stadium to complete work on the album. He streamed some of the progress ahead of the record’s release, too.
The album arrives amid huge changes in the rapper’s private life. He recently officially filed to have his name legally changed to a single word: Ye. The name change petition came months after the news that he and Kim Kardashian West are divorcing. Kardashian West appeared in the crowd for both Donda events in Atlanta with their children. At the Chicago event, she and West reenacted their wedding.
Kanye West’s last studio album was 2019’s Grammy Award-winning gospel record Jesus Is King.