On Friday, fans of Kanye West from Keeping Up With the Kardashians were eager to listen to his latest studio album “Donda,” which wasn't released, and we're here to share the record's timeline. The album reportedly needs more work before it's ready to be released. This is the second time the album was supposed to be released but wasn’t.
Kanye West is definitely one of the most respected and beloved musicians of his era. Some of his more successful albums include “The College Dropout”, “Graduation” and “The Life of Pablo.” West also has gained international success with his retail brand, Yeezy.
Last year, Kanye’s newest album was announced and set to release in the summer, but it didn’t drop. Many suspected that the delay had to do with his impending divorce from Kim Kardashian and his mental health before and during the 2020 presidential election. With all of that behind him, fans were hopeful that the album would be released this time around. Below is a timeline of West’s much anticipated “Donda” album:
November 2019 - Rumors of a New Album Begin
According to Reddit, word of Kanye’s latest album started in November of 2019. Kanye announced that “Jesus Is King Part II” would follow his 2019 album, “Jesus is King.” The hip-hop musician also stated that he would be working alongside Dr. Dre. From that point onward, West was spotted with (or rumored to be working alongside) various artists. Tyler the Creator, Big Sean, Justin Bieber, Pusha T, Travis Scott, Swae Lee, Lil Baby, Anderson .Paak and Nicki Minaj were a few of the artists linked to Kanye’s new album.
April 2020 - Interview with Kanye About Album
In March 2020, Kanye was in Mexico to start recording the new album. While there, he spoke with writer Will Welch, who detailed the interview in a GQ cover feature the following month. West opened up to Welch about mulling over quitting rap.
“I was thinking of not rapping again because I rapped for the Devil so long that I didn’t even know how to rap for God,” Kanye said. However, he spoke to one of his pastors who said that his son “would want a rap album about Jesus from Kanye West.” That affected the rap star and apparently gave him the strength to continue making music. “Have I ever not done anything I said I was going to do? ‘I made it back from addiction, I beat the predictions, brought real to the fictions’ -- that’s off the new album,” West said.
July 2020 - “Donda” Announced
Exactly a year ago, Kanye announced that he was working on an album to be titled “Donda,” after his mother, who passed away in 2007. Evidently, the previous name “Jesus Is King Part II” was scrapped for whatever reason. The record was scheduled to release on July 24. The rap artist shared a song preview called “Donda” on Twitter, along with the cover art. See the cover art tweet below:
West also shared song titles with the caption: “DONDA coming this Friday” during the week leading up to the release. “STAY ON EM _ PRECIOUS”, “I Know God Breathed On This,” “Off The Grid,” and “God's Country,” were a few of the names on the list. When July 24 came and went, Kanye's album didn’t drop.
August 2020 - Kanye’s Manager Speaks Out
Kanye’s manager Bu Thiam spoke out on an Instagram Live video, stating that “Donda is coming soon.” He explained that there were some “technical difficulties” and they’re working to “get it right.”
March 2021 - “Donda” Revisited
By this point, people assumed that Kanye wasn’t going to release “Donda” at all. CyHi, another artist that is supposed to be featured on the new album, said that West returned to work on his new album in late 2020. “We’re back working, that’s why I’m out here too,” CyHi said.
July 2021 - “Donda” Doesn’t Drop AGAIN
On July 18 in Las Vegas, Kanye hosted a surprise listening party for his new record. Footage of the event surfaced, including praise for West’s latest music. Tyler The Creator was present at the listening event too, according to video footage.
The next day, another listening event was announced for July 22, but in Atlanta this time. Apparently, Kanye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian was present at the Atlanta event. Pusha T was the host, and he shared the following post on Instagram:
On July 21, Def Jam Recordings confirmed the release of “Donda” for July 23. Around this time, Kanye from Keeping Up With the Kardashians began posting on Instagram too, hyping up fans for the release. As avid fans of the rap star know, the album was not released on Friday and hasn’t been released in the days following either. The new release date is August 6, according to Rolling Stone.
Sources: Reddit, Kanye West/Twitter, Pusha T/Instagram, NME, Kanye West/Instagram, Rolling Stone, GQ