Yeah, we lost our invite, too. Man about town Kanye West teased new music this weekend with an invite-only listening party. No, it wasn’t YANDHI. It’s reportedly Donda, the long-delayed homage to his late mother. Clips of the party in Las Vegas circulated online Sunday, amid reviews for the new music. Twitter gossips posted the registration, which said no cell phones are permitted, as well as images of West wearing a full ski mask and gloves. At least someone wore PPE? Lil Baby, Pusha T, Travis Scott, Baby Keem, and more are rumored to be on the album, which still has a focus on religion, according to those who listened. One track reportedly features a recording of his mother speaking and on one interlude “a woman just says Donda like 50 times.†Footage of Tyler, the Creator in the studio with West surfaced on Saturday, showing a whiteboard with a potential track list. The official date for Donda is unknown, though Justin Laboy of RevoltTV tweeted, “When it drops this week, we probably not going to listen to anything else for a while,†after listening to it on Sunday with Kevin Durant. Donda will be the rapper’s tenth studio album, following Jesus Is King, his 2019 gospel album. Sorry to every rapper planning to drop soon. Yeezus is coming.
Update, 3:45 p.m.: No one loves a listening event more than Kanye. It’s official: Kanye West’s next album Donda will premiere at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday, July 22, Live Nation and G.O.O.D. Music announced on Monday. Tickets go on sale at 5 p.m. ET. In June 2020, West said his Jesus Is King follow-up would be titled God’s Country, but later said the album Donda would be released in late July. Apparently, he meant 2021.