Kanye Accuses Universal Music Of Releasing ‘Donda’ Without His Permission
Kanye's new album has finally arrived - and there's a hell of a lot of drama surrounding it.
In the early hours of this morning, Donda, the new record by Kanye West, dropped.
But given it wouldn’t be a Kanye album cycle without a little bit of chaos, perhaps it was unsurprising that the album came with its own wild story — that Kanye apparently did not approve the release.
Yep, taking to his Instagram, Kanye clarified that Universal had dropped the record without his approval while blocking the release of the track ‘Jail 2’.
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‘Jail 2’ and its accompanying track ‘Jail’ have both been the subject of controversy ever since they were aired at the latest Donda listening party. ‘Jail’ includes a guest spot feature from Marilyn Manson, who has multiple allegations of sexual assault levelled against him, while ‘Jail 2’ features DaBaby, who recently made a series of homophobic comments at a live show.
Both DaBaby and Marilyn Manson appeared at the live event, drawing immediate criticism from social media.
Some have since argued that the inclusion of the two musicians ties into the themes of the record, with Kanye being crucified as Christ was alongside two sinners. But whether or not the inclusion of the musicians was part of some grand scheme, it does not diminish from the fact that Kanye is giving a platform to figures with deeply problematic pasts, legitimising them in the process.
The fiddling around with the guest spots on Donda should not come as a surprise — this is part of the Kanye wheelhouse too, and he’s well-known for tinkering with albums after their release. But this time around, the tinkering has been more intense than usual: DaBaby actually briefly replaced Jay-Z, who originally guested on ‘Jail’, before Kanye’s Watch The Throne creator was re-instated.
Donda is out on all streaming platforms now — whether Kanye likes it or not.
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