Kanye West doesn’t seem pleased with the rollout of his latest album, Donda.
Just hours after Donda arrived on streaming services Sunday morning (Aug. 29), the 44-year-old rapper and fashion mogul claimed on social media that the oft-delayed album was released without his approval by Universal Music Group, the parent company of Def Jam Recordings.
“UNIVERSAL PUT MY ALBUM OUT WITHOUT MY APPROVAL AND THEY BLOCKED JAIL 2 FROM BEING ON THE ALBUM,” West wrote in all caps on Instagram.
Billboard has reached out to Def Jam for comment.
The Donda track “Jail pt 2,” featuring DaBaby, was originally unavailable when the album first appeared on streaming services Sunday morning, but became available later in the afternoon. In a now-deleted Instagram post from early Sunday, West shared screenshots of text messages saying the track was being held up because of clearance issues from DaBaby.
During Ye’s third large-scale listening event for Donda at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Aug. 26, it was revealed that Jay-Z’s verse on “Jail” had been replaced by a new one from DaBaby, who has been under fire for making homophobic and misogynistic comments at Rolling Loud Miami in July. Fans were pleased to learn Sunday that Jay’s verse had been reinstated on the original “Jail.”
Donda, Kanye’s 10th album, was first due on July 23 via G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam following his first large-scale listening event inside Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium, but then the project experienced multiple delays. Named after the rapper’s mom who died in 2007, Donda comes nearly two years after his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
In addition to Jay-Z and DaBaby, Donda also features numerous high-profile collaborations, including The Weeknd and Lil Baby (“Hurricane”), Travis Scott (“Praise God”), Young Thug and Pop Smoke (“Tell the Vision”), Kid Cudi (“Moon”), Pusha T, Roddy Ricch and Ariana Grande (“Donda”), and more.
