Kanye West’s highly delayed Donda album unexpectedly arrived on Sunday (August 29), six days before its most recent release date. But according to an Instagram post from the eccentric Hip Hop billionaire, it wasn’t supposed to drop yet.
“UNIVERSAL PUT MY ALBUM OUT WITHOUT MY APPROVAL,” he wrote. “AND THEY BLOCKED JAIL 2 FROM BEING ON THE ALBUM.”
“Jail 2” refers to Kanye’s collaboration with DaBaby, which was supposedly cut at the last minute. Fans only learned of its existence on Thursday (August 26) during Ye’s third public album listening party at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
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The song originally featured a verse from Kanye’s Watch The Throne collaborator JAY-Z, but the new version found him noticeably absent, completed with DaBaby’s verse instead.
Kanye West’s Donda rollout has already been marred by controversy. The project was originally expected to drop on July 23, then August 6 and finally, August 27. Anticipation for the album was at a fever pitch on Thursday night after Ye’s manager promised Donda would be uploaded to digital streaming platforms promptly at midnight EST on Friday (August 28).
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Unsurprisingly to many of his fans, it didn’t materialize. With its sudden release, fans were confused JAY-Z was once again on the song “Jail” and DaBaby wasn’t. Kanye blamed the debacle on DaBaby’s manager Arnold Taylor, claiming he wouldn’t clear the song.
But Taylor emphatically denied the accusations with an Instagram post, writing, “This is CAP. I woke up this morning to this social media bullshit. I never got a call or email from @kanyewest @__bu @johnmonopoly I just received it today and Cleared it in 2 seconds.”
DaBaby Manager Emphatically Denies 'Blocking' Kanye West 'Donda' Verse
He added, “Why wouldn’t I want a hit song out when #SCMG is all about the growth and culture of Hip Hop and my artist!!! To all of the media blogs and outlets don’t believe everything you see in a post, thank you!!! #SCMGShit.”
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Kanye and Universal Music Group have had their share of issues over the years. Last September, he threatened both Universal and Sony Music with a lawsuit if they didn’t return his masters. Evidently, it’s a battle he’s still fighting.
