For the past several weeks, reports and rumors have become more and more frequent surrounding a new Kanye West album. Now, though, it feels legit.
Videos by American Songwriter
On Friday (October 13), Billboard published an exclusive story detailing where West is at in the album process. According to the article, West is focused solely on putting out his currently untitled joint album with R&B icon Ty Dolla $ign.
News regarding the West and Ty Dolla LP first surfaced in late September, when TMZ mentioned that West was crafting it along with a separate solo album. Per Billboard, though, the collaborative project is ready for release now, and actually almost came out on Friday.
“While sources say the album release was originally planned for Friday (Oct. 13), it was pushed back and is expected to land in the coming weeks,” Billboard writer Colin Stutz wrote.
What is keeping West and Ty Dolla from crossing the finish line is the fact that their LP does not have a distributor yet. Reportedly, West is sorting through offers from five potential partners to distribute the project, and “will make a decision soon.”
[RELATED: Kanye West Reportedly Planning Listening Party for Upcoming Album]
However, it has been tough for some of these labels to pull the trigger on teaming up with West, considering how his widely publicized antisemitic tirade in late 2022 weakened his fanbase. As noted by Stutz, this issue is particularly prominent at the moment due to the conflict in Gaza.
This has led to the five remaining suitors being smaller entities, as a momentous release like this could be a breakthrough for any one of them. Though West is seen as an incredibly controversial figure, Stutz reported that the impending music with Ty Dolla “is West’s best music in at least five years,” according to those who have listened to it.
Whenever it does come out, the album will be the latest chapter of a fruitful relationship between West and Ty Dolla. In the past, they’ve made fan-favorite hits like “Real Friends” (2016), “Everything We Need” (2019), “Ego Death” and “Track 6” (2020), and “Junya. Pt. 2” (2021). Recently, Ty Dolla has previewed multiple unreleased tracks from his sessions with West, including the long-coveted song “New Body” with Nicki Minaj, which was meant to land on recent West albums like Jesus is King (2019) and Donda (2021).
As we wait for the official release of West and Ty Dolla’s new LP, check out snippets of songs that could land on the project below.
Photo by MEGA/GC Images
