Kanye West is back. The 22-time Grammy winner released his highly anticipated 10th studio album, Donda, to streaming services on Sunday morning (Aug. 29) — weeks after his original listening event in Atlanta.
The album was first due on Friday, July 23, via G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam Recordings, but then the project experienced multiple delays. Donda, named after West’s mom who died in 2007 at age 58, comes nearly two years after West’s ninth studio album, Jesus Is King, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in October 2019.
On Thursday night, he held a third album release event for Donda at Chicago’s Soldier’s Field, after holding his previous two events inside Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium. The city of Atlanta reportedly declared July 22 as Kanye West Day after his highly successful first Donda listening event, which boasted high-profile collaborations with Jay-Z, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch and Baby Keem.
The first official preview of Donda appeared in a Beats by Dre commercial, starring track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson. The ad, which featured one minute of West’s new song “No Child Left Behind” from the album, was scored and edited by the hitmaker. “No Child Left Behind,” a seemingly gospel-style song, begins with fellow artist Vory saying, “Back again, I used my back against the wall/ Never called on y’all, never count on y’all/ Always count on God.” West then chimes in, repeating, “He’s done miracles on me.”
Richardson helped roll out another Donda track — “Glory” with Dr. Dre — in a second Beats by Dre ad.
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