8 Things We Learned About Kanye West’s ‘Donda 2’ Album – Billboard

It’s not a Kanye West launch week with out some Yeezy-orchestrated chaos. Lower than six months after Donda‘s arrival, West is readying the discharge of the sequel album devoted to his late mom. The Chicago-bred billionaire hosted an album listening expertise debuting new music on Tuesday night time (Feb. 22) at Miami’s LoanDepot Park.

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1000’s of followers stuffed the seats of their Black threads and Balenciaga-engineered YEEZY merch mimicking the every day uniform of their hero, whereas these watching on-line by way of dwell stream listened alongside to Kanye’s heartbeat for two-plus hours awaiting the present’s begin.

The emotional rollercoaster of an evening was a star-studded affair with Future, Jack Harlow, Migos, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, XXXTENTACION, Don Toliver, Soulja Boy, Child Keem, and extra guesting on the present iteration of Donda 2, which is unsure to land on main streaming providers anytime quickly.

The 44-year-old had a lot to get off his chest all through the unfinished album relating to his relationship with ex-wife Kim Kardashian and the standing of his fractured household.

Previous to the technical difficulties and defective microphones plaguing the second half of the listening expertise, take a look at eight issues we discovered about Donda 2 under.

1. XXXTENTACION is the primary voice heard on the album

XXXTENTACION handed away almost 4 years in the past, however Kanye West is doing his half in maintaining his legacy alive. The late Florida native is the primary artist heard on Donda 2 with a somber help relating themes of heartbreak and love. “Real love shouldn’t be this difficult, thought I’d die in your arms,” XXX painfully raps. The “SAD!” artist additionally makes one other look on what might be interpreted as Act I closing monitor titled “Egocentric.”

This isn’t the primary time Kanye has posthumously collaborated with XXXTENTACION. The genre-blending duo beforehand teamed up in December 2018 for the grungy “One Minute.” Ye paid his condolences following XXX’s tragic dying and revealed that the late rhymer was an inspiration for him. “Relaxation in peace I by no means informed you ways a lot you impressed me once you had been right here thanks for present,” West tweeted.

2. Kanye reinvigorates the Migos

It’s nearly as if the Migos’ celeb outgrew their musical output. Whereas the ATL trio’s Tradition III largely got here and went in 2021 with out leaving a lot of an imprint, Quavo and Offset put their stamp with an exclamation level on Donda 2‘s “Child We Did It” alongside Child Keem.

The Migos duo trades bars over triumphant horns on the manufacturing facet whereas Offset spews about serving to Kanye win again Kim Kardashian and sends a stray shot within the New York Knicks’ path following the Atlanta Hawks playoff beatdown in spherical certainly one of final 12 months’s NBA postseason.

3. Future’s fingerprints are everywhere in the album

As an govt producer for Donda 2, it’s a light shock Future didn’t take the chance to stroll on water alongside Kanye. Pluto makes a number of visitor appearances on the album and runs the three-man weave with Ye and Travis Scott for early fan-favorite “Pablo.” Identified for his poisonous bars in terms of relationships, Future needed to be an affect in pushing Kanye West’s pen for bars like “Save the flowers, ship her $100,000″ and “Solely billionaire sleeping on the sofa.”

4. Donda 2 nonetheless isn’t a completed product

Sadly for Kanye followers, Feb. 22’s Donda 2 doesn’t sound like an album in its remaining type simply but. It’s almost certainly again to the drafting board for the perfectionist that’s the G.O.O.D. Music CEO who will make a collection of tweaks to the physique of D2 with fixes to sure verses and manufacturing facets. On a optimistic notice, the venture appears to be additional alongside than the primary Donda listening social gathering followers heard in Atlanta in July 2021.

5. Kim Kardashian’s Saturday Evening Reside monologue is sampled

In a transfer that may solely be described as Kanye being Kanye, he samples a portion of Kim Kardashian’s 2021 Saturday Evening Reside monologue, which finds his ex-wife paying him the very best of compliments in terms of his rhymes and checking account.

“I married the perfect rapper of all time,” she may be heard saying at first of “Sci-Fi.” “Not solely that, he’s the richest Black man in America. A gifted, legit genius who gave me 4 unimaginable youngsters.”

6. Soulja Boy will get his revenge

Massive Draco’s vocals booming by way of the LoanDepot Park audio system come as the most important shock of the 2020s proper up there with Edge’s return on the WWE’s 2020 Royal Rumble. Soulja Boy will get his revenge after being taken off Donda‘s “Distant Management” by laying a fiery verse on “First Time in a Lengthy Time.” So all is nice on the Soulja Boy and Kanye entrance and their beef appears to be like to be squashed.

7. No extra Louis Vuitton

Don’t anticipate Kanye West to be supporting Louis Vuitton any longer following the dying of his shut pal Virgil Abloh, who served as the primary Black Inventive Director on the legendary trend home.

The warfare appears to be like to be again on with LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault as Kanye despatched extra photographs in LV’s path in a method that was paying homage to when he blasted Arnault for not taking a gathering with him throughout his 2013 The Breakfast Membership interview. “I ended shopping for Louis baggage after Virgil handed,” Ye raps on “Louis Luggage.”

8. Jack Harlow retains on profitable

Enterprise is booming for Missionary Jack. After receiving high 5 props from Kanye West final week in what Harlow known as “one of many best moments” of his life, he should’ve gotten an invitation from Yeezy to affix him in Miami. Jack Harlow makes essentially the most of his alternative for a visitor spot on Donda 2‘s “Louis Luggage” in what’s certain to be one other stepping stone in his ascension to superstardom.