On Jan. 27, Ye—the rapper formerly known as Kanye West—announced that his eleventh studio album, Donda 2, will be dropping on Feb. 22. It will be a sequel to his 2021 release, Donda, which was named as a tribute to his late mother Donda West, who passed away in 2007.
As you might remember, the album rollout for Donda was quite elaborate. Over the span of two months, Ye hosted a series of listening events in Atlanta and Chicago, which included guest appearances from artists like Fivio Foreign, Shenseea, Don Toliver, Marilyn Manson, DaBaby, the Sunday Service Choir, and more. According to reports, Kanye earned over $12 million from the listening parties.
It’s still unclear what Ye will do in the lead-up to his next album. But if we know anything about Kanye, it’s bound to be extravagant. While we wait for the next update, in the midst of a very busy news cycle for Ye, here’s a breakdown of everything we know about Donda 2 so far.
After much speculation, Kanye announced that his next album, Donda 2, will be dropping on Feb. 22, 2022. Ye made the announcement on Instagram, sharing a photo of a replica of his childhood home in Chicago, set ablaze.
According to a message that Kanye shared on his Instagram Story a few hours later, the release date will coincide with the United States’ first-ever Pluto Return. In astrology, a Pluto Return happens when “a heavenly body” passes all 12 signs and returns to the same sign it was in when it was born or created. It happens every 248 years or so, meaning the last Pluto Return in the United States happened when the country was founded in 1776. “Pluto returns are about the ends of empires, the changing of guards, and the transfer of power,” astrologer Dana DeFranco told Bustle. “America has Pluto in Capricorn in the second house of money, property, security, and values. Capricorn is the sign of infrastructure, hard work, and earning your keep. These concepts relate to traditional American values and the American dream.”
As we all know, Kanye isn’t the best when it comes to sticking to deadlines, so it might be better to think of the Feb. 22 date as a loose suggestion at this point, rather than a firm release date. We’ll soon find out.
Kanye also announced that Future will be executive producing Donda 2. He didn’t explain what exactly that entails (or how Future will influence the finished product) but fans are already speculating it means that Donda 2 will include some of Kanye’s most toxic records yet. Future is known for making emotive and sleazy records about his past relationships, so it’s very possible that will carry over to Kanye. We could be in for songs targeted at his ex Kim Kardashian and her new boyfriend Pete Davidson. (As a reminder, executive producers don’t actually produce all of the songs on an album. Their job is to guide the overall tone and direction of the project.)
After Kanye released the first Donda album in August 2021, it was rumored he wasted no time getting back in the studio. On Jan. 3, 2022, veteran music executive Steven Victor revealed to Complex that Ye “has started working” on Donda 2. As we’ve seen in the past, it’s likely he’ll keep working on the album until minutes before it is released.
Kany has a knack for uniting some of the most unique and talented artists in the game, and it looks like Donda 2 won’t be any different. At the end of December 2021, a video circulated online, showing Kanye jamming to music in the studio with Scarface. In the first two weeks of Jan. 2022, he was spotted in the studio with The Game, Pusha-T, and ASAP Rocky. (He soon released a single with The Game called “Eazy.”)
On Jan. 12, Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo shared a screenshot of a text conversation between him and Kanye. In the text thread, Kanye says that he wants “to lock in” with Moneybagg, and asks the rapper to hop on a beat for Donda 2. A week later, Ye was spotted leaving a studio in Los Angeles with Big Sean and French Montana, on the same day that a photo of Kanye and Blueface surfaced.
Even controversial NFL star Antonio Brown told Complex he’s been in the studio with Kanye, and Ye even asked him to help out with some bars. Of course, it’s not confirmed whether all of these artists will actually make the final cut of the album, but it looks like we can expect some interesting collaborations.
It’s been rumored that Donda 2 could be accompanied by a movie. In early January, Kanye and his new girlfriend, actress Julia Fox, were spotted doing a photoshoot in a dimly lit Los Angeles street. Well, according to sources who spoke with the Daily Mail, they were filming something for a Donda 2 film that could be released in tandem with the album. Of course, this is all speculation at this point, and neither Kanye nor Fox have confirmed such a film. And even if they are currently working on it, Kanye has a history of announcing film project that never ultimately see the light of day.
The original Donda was met with fairly positive reviews, debuted at No. on the Billboard 200 in its first week, and earned a nomination for Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys. And according to people in Kanye’s inner circle, Donda 2 is on track for more critical praise. In an interview with Complex, Steven Victor said Donda 2 is a “masterpiece,” later revealing it will come “sooner than you think.” Unfortunately, he didn’t explain what he meant by that or offer further details, but the comment certainly raised hype levels for the album. – Complex
