We didn’t get Kanye West’s Donda album last week as planned, but we did learn that it includes a new song with Jay-Z, setting up a potential future hit for the frequent collaborators.
At the Donda album listening event in Atlanta on Thursday, West surprised the Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd when Jay’s voice rang out on the final track played. According to Mark Elibert, who covered the event for Billboard, “The song featured an electric guitar-laden beat with Kanye singing about going to jail with an unexpected guest feature. JAY-Z crept onto the track with a smooth flow that announced the possible return of The Throne.”
The pair already have a prolific history on the charts, with 11 Billboard Hot 100 hits together as artists, including three top 10s. West also produced three top 10s for Jay-Z that West didn’t appear on as an artist, including “Izzo (HOVA)” and “03 Bonnie & Clyde” with Beyoncé. And of course, there’s the Watch the Throne album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2011.
So will the yet-untitled and yet-unreleased new collaboration from ‘Ye and Jay be their next hit? On the new episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, we talk all about the possibilities for the new song and new album, which now has an Aug. 6 release date.
Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album Faith debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while John Mayer’s latest, Sob Rock, starts at No. 2. Plus, how BTS’ “Butter” returns to No. 1 on the Hot 100, displacing the group’s own “Permission to Dance” from the top slot. Plus, we chat about Taylor Swift’s decision to pull Fearless (Taylor’s Version) from contention at the Grammys and CMA Awards as well as Camila Cabello’s colorful new song and video “Don’t Go Yet.”
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard’s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard’s deputy editor, digital, Katie Atkinson and senior director of Billboard charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
