Since the second half of the summer commenced, the noise surrounding a potential new Kanye West album has continued to grow louder and louder. On Friday (August 25), though, thanks to the most reputable source on the matter thus far, it looks incredibly likely that rumors will soon manifest into material.
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According to NBC News, which received corroborating reports from two trusted sources, new music from West is “imminent.” While they could not confirm if it would be a full album, or when it would arrive, NBC‘s sources claimed they were present in the studio with West and his wife Bianca Censori while these plans were hatched and while the music was being played.
A new LP from West would be his first official studio project since Donda in 2021, which earned Grammy nominations and included marquee guest appearances like Jay-Z, The Weeknd, Marilyn Manson, André 3000, Lil Baby, and more. A few months after this, though, West went to work on Donda‘s sequel, which he released and updated in the middle of its creation solely on his Stem Player device. First made available in February 2022, the quasi-album contained feature verses from Jack Harlow, Future, XXXTENTACION, Migos, and more.
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West would never end up fully finishing Donda 2, and it never earned a formal release on digital streaming platforms. Later in 2022, though, interest in West’s music would plunge anyway, after he went on a weeks-long antisemitic tirade. West’s problematic views would force him into obscurity, costing him brand deals and meaningful relationships, as he’s now been absent from the limelight since late 2022.
An update on West’s musical endeavors wouldn’t come until July, when fellow collaborator and Chicago-based rapper Rooga revealed that “he’s working on an album,” around the same time West was rumored to reside in Japan. A few days later, while discussing his relationship with West on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ice Cube insisted that West was in a much better space mentally and that he could re-emerge from the shadows in the near future.
“I believe he’s doing great,” Cube told Morgan. “He’s still dealing with some people trying to hold onto his money, but for the most part, I believe he’s in a good space. I think he’s learned a lot from this past year, and hopefully, he’ll come out better on the other side.”
Adding more fuel to the fire earlier this month, an AMA session conducted on Reddit by one of West’s producers named Fya Man saw him confirm to fans that an album is in the works. Calling the currently untitled LP “fire,” describing it as “the ‘Old Ye’ but new with the times,” and revealing that West is “extremely involved” in the writing process, Fya Man brought West’s fanbase’s excitement to a new level.
So, now that a nationally trusted network like NBC has reaffirmed what Rooga and Fya Man have already been telling us, it’s hard to imagine we’ll have to wait much longer for West’s return. The only question that remains now is: Are we ready for it?
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