Kanye West Is Dropping 'DONDA' This Friday
Yeezy is coming.
After much speculation, Kanye West has confirmed that his 10th solo studio album DONDA will drop this Friday, July 23. The announcement was made in a new Beats by Dre commercial starring track sensation Sha’Carri Richardson that aired during Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The 60-second spot, which was scored and edited by Kanye, features a new song called “No Child Left Behind.”
DONDA will premiere during at a sold-out listening event at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday, which will be streamed live globally via Apple Music at 8 p.m. ET.
Earlier in the week, Kanye previewed the album for a select group of friends and fans at a church in Las Vegas. The album, for which a preliminary tracklist leaked, is said to feature collaborations with Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Pusha T, Post Malone, Playboi Carti, Westside Gunn, Baby Keem, and more.
Kanye also played his latest work for Kevin Durant and web personality Justin Laboy, who raved about Ye’s new music. “The production is light years ahead of it’s time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again,” he tweeted. “The man changed the sound of music on this project.”
Kanye played his new album for me & @KDTrey5 last night in Vegas. Man listen! The production is light years ahead of it’s time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again. Any artist who plan on dropping soon should just push it back 😤 #Respectfully
— Respectfully Justin (@JustinLaboy) July 18, 2021
DONDA, named after Kanye’s late mother, arrives nearly one year to the date of its original July 24, 2020 release date. It follows 2019’s Jesus Is King, which topped the charts and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Album.
UPDATE: Kanye has shared a tentative tracklist for DONDA ahead of its Friday release.