DONDA 2 is the eleventh studio album by Kanye West. The album was first released on the Stem Player service on February 23, 2022, with subsequent updates further altering the album's songs and track list.[1][2] The album was executively produced by Future, who appears on some songs.[3]
DONDA 2 is known for its distinct release style. Until April 2025, it had only been officially released for the Stem Player. The album also lacked official album art and official credits, leading fans to fill in those areas with fan art and speculation based on interviews and other media. Most listeners of the album had accessed the media through unofficial means, including pirating.[4]
The album was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. Many claimed that the songs sounded incomplete for the most part.[5] These criticisms were joined by some claims that Ye was simply gaming people into buying the Stem Player device. For over three years, the project was left unfinished and was presumed to have been completely scrapped.
However, to the surprise of many, the album began its second rollout in April of 2025.[6] This rollout ended with the album being officially released on streaming on April 29, 2025.[7] For the streaming release, producer Digital Nas is credited as an additional executive producer alongside streamers Sneako and N3ON. The streaming release is credited under the account name "DONDA".[7]
Background[]
2022[]
DONDA 2 is preceded by Ye's tenth studio album, Donda, which was released on August 29, 2021 after much anticipation. The album's reception was generally positive, with most of its critiques stemming from the fact that it had a long track list. A deluxe version of Donda was released that November, adding "Life of the Party," featuring André 3000.
Ye appeared as a surprise guest at Future's set for Rolling Loud California 2021.[8] Later that same month, media showing him working with rapper Scarface leaked.[9] In the early days of 2022, Ye's manager Steven Victor revealed to Complex that Ye was working on "Donda 2."[10]
Most of the work on the album was done between January and February that year. There were recording sessions with the likes of The Game, A$AP Rocky, Future, and DJ Khaled. Also present in those recording sessions were celebrities such as Madonna and Antonio Brown. "Eazy," a joint single between Ye and The Game, was released during this period. "Hot Shit" may have been worked on around this period.[11] Ye also punched an obsessive fan and was briefly investigated by local police in January.[12]
Ye's partner at the time, actress Julia Fox, revealed Future's involvement in a podcast in mid-January.[13] Ye would go on to announce the album in a series of Instagram posts on January 27. He also made a pledge to not have his iPhone with him until the release date, something that he broke only days later.[14] Towards the end of the album's recording process, Vory, Don Toliver, and Digital Nas got involved.
As Ye went on Instagram tirades aimed against his ex-wife's boyfriend Pete Davidson, the singles "Diet Coke" and "City of Gods" were released, which contain production and a verse from Kanye, respectively. On February 17, Kanye announced the album would be an exclusive to his proprietary Stem Player device, which was priced at $200 at the time.[15] He justified his decision by stating it was an effort to work in favor of artists earning more money from their own music, as opposed to the relatively smaller earnings that they get from streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. In that same post, he shared an early snippet of the song "Flowers", and went on to share an early track list for the album not long afterward.[16]
The last event leading up to the album's release was the album's listening party which was named the Donda Experience Performance. Almost every song from the new album was played in the stadium's speakers and on the broadcast, but audio issues hampered the quality of the show. This made Kanye throw his microphone in frustration towards the end of it.[17]
Stem Player release[]
The album's original release date of February 22 was not met, but the first four tracks were released the day after. They were "Pablo", "Broken Road", "Security", and "We Did It Kid".[2] The rest of the album was released as "V2.22.22 MIAMI" on February 24, bringing the track total to 16 temporarily.[1] "Keep It Burning" was removed shortly after, bringing the album back down to 15.[18] "True Love" was also replaced by a less-popular version on release, only for that version to be replaced by the original through subsequent updates. In a similar manner, The Life Of Pablo was released as a service exclusive for Tidal, but that exclusivity was reversed within a matter of months.[19]
The album's exclusivity to the expensive Stem Player ($200 USD) was negatively received by fans and critics alike, leading it to become heavily pirated and illegally uploaded to streaming platforms such as Spotify.
The songs on the album were released with four-track stems, which lead to many fans remixing and creating edits of the album. Heavily-edited or remixed versions of DONDA 2 tracks became the most popular versions on YouTube, with some gaining over a million views as the actual songs were taken down by copyright claims.
Post-2022 release[]
Behind the scenes, DONDA 2 was still quietly being worked on. Songs such as "Too Easy", "We Did It Kid", "530" and "Maintenance" were fully finished by March 2022. According to insiders, Ye planned to bring back his GOOD Fridays series of songs in April 2022 by releasing four songs, though Ye eventually scrapped those plans. Following controversies in late 2022, Stem officially ended their partnership with Ye.
In 2023, Ye began working on his then-upcoming album, YEBU. Allegedly, several songs from DONDA 2 were brought back during these sessions, such as "Happy" and "We Did It Kid". However, the project was scrapped in the summer of that year when he and Ty Dolla $ign worked on their collaborative album series, VULTURES.
On March 14, 2024, it was heavily rumored that Mike Dean had gotten involved with finishing DONDA 2, and the release of the album on streaming platforms, and that Ye was planning to release his entire back catalog to streaming platforms. In May, a phone call between Mike and the Legendary Traxster was leaked, during which they talked about releasing Ye's entire unreleased catalogue, including DONDA 2, on streaming.[20]
2025[]
On March 19, 2025, following the release of Ye's visual album, BULLY, he announced on X that he planned on releasing DONDA 2 soon, and asked his followers whether they wanted VULTURES 3 or Donda 3.[21]
On April 3rd, Digital Nas confirmed on his Twitch stream that DONDA 2 would be coming to streaming services.[22] A day after, Sean Leon posted lyrics from the song "TOO EASY", seemingly confirming that he was working on the project as well. [23] On April 23, Digital Nas played "Security" on stream. Six days later, Ye invited streamers Sneako and N3ON to work on the album with him and Digital Nas. The two streamers were told to decide the positioning of the songs on the album's tracklist and held a listening party for the album in the studio.[24] The album was released the following day.
Post-2025 release[]
On May 1, two songs, "JESSE" and "SUZY", were added onto DONDA 2. The titles of "MR MIAGI", "LOUIE BAG", "LORD LIFT", and "FIRST TIME" were changed to "MR MIYAGI", "LOUIE BAGS", "LORD LIFT ME UP", and "FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME", respectively. AI vocals were also added to "LOUIE BAGS" and "HAPPY". Two days later, "PABLO", "MR MIYAGI", and "HAPPY" were all taken off of streaming services; Digital Nas revealed on X that this was due to complaints about the songs.[25]
Commercial performance[]
When the album was initially released on the Stem Player in 2022, Billboard announced that it was not eligible for their charts, such as the Billboard 200, because it was only available to owners of the Stem Player.[26] In response, Ye celebrated on Instagram, saying "We make my own systems We set our own value aaaand yesterdays price is not todays price baaaaabeeeee!!!!".[27] According to EQ Trendroom, the album sold 11,000 units in its first day, generating a revenue of $2.2 million USD[28], though Ye claimed that the revenue amounted to $1.3 million.[27]
After the album was released on streaming, it had reportedly sold a measly 5,900 units in its first week, though it is estimated that the album would have sold 21,000 units with a full tracking week.[29] Regardless, this marks the worst first-week sales for an album released by Ye, shattering the record previously held by The Life Of Pablo (2016).
Track list[]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "TRUE LOVE" | 2:17 |
| 2. | "BROKEN ROAD" | 1:41 |
| 3. | "GET LOST" | 2:34 |
| 4. | "KEEP THE FLOWERS" | 2:51 |
| 5. | "JESSE" | 2:07 |
| 6. | "TOO EASY" | 2:57 |
| 7. | "PABLO" | 3:01 |
| 8. | "MR MIYAGI" | 2:58 |
| 9. | "HAPPY" | 4:46 |
| 10. | "SECURITY" | 2:42 |
| 11. | "CITY OF GOD" | 4:16 |
| 12. | "530" | 2:02 |
| 13. | "CITY OF CHI" | 2:42 |
| 14. | "SCIFI" | 4:00 |
| 15. | "SUZY" | 1:24 |
| 16. | "BURN EVERYTHING" | 2:01 |
| 17. | "LOUIE BAGS" | 3:13 |
| 18. | "WE DID IT" | 3:54 |
| 19. | "MAINTENANCE" | 1:13 |
| 20. | "LORD LIFT ME UP" | 2:10 |
| 21. | "FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME" | 3:08 |
| Total length: | 51:44 | |
| 2.24.22 Release | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | “True Love” (feat. XXXTENTACION) | 2:40 | ||||||||
| 2. | “Broken Road” (feat. Don Toliver) | 1:40 | ||||||||
| 3. | “Get Lost” | 2:35 | ||||||||
| 4. | “Too Easy” | 2:58 | ||||||||
| 5. | “Flowers” | 2:51 | ||||||||
| 6. | “Security” | 2:16 | ||||||||
| 7. | “We Did It Kid” (feat. Baby Keem & Migos) | 2:48 | ||||||||
| 8. | “Pablo” (feat. Travis Scott & Future) | 2:34 | ||||||||
| 9. | “Louie Bags” (feat. Jack Harlow) | 3:13 | ||||||||
| 10. | “Happy” (feat. Future) | 4:45 | ||||||||
| 11. | “Sci Fi” (feat. Sean Leon) | 4:00 | ||||||||
| 12. | “Selfish” (feat. XXXTENTACION) | 1:39 | ||||||||
| 13. | “Lord Lift Me Up” (feat. Vory) | 2:09 | ||||||||
| 14. | “City of Gods” (with Fivio Foreign & Alicia Keys) | 4:16 | ||||||||
| 15. | “First Time In A Long Time” (feat. Soulja Boy) | 3:04 | ||||||||
| 16. | “Eazy” (with The Game) | 3:54 | ||||||||
| Total length: | 46:45 | |||||||||
See also[]
- Donda 2/Unreleased for information on unreleased album material
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Corcoran, Nina, Minsker, Evan (February 24, 2022). "Kanye West Releases New Album Donda 2 on Stem Player". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Saponara, Michael (February 23, 2022). "More songs from Kanye West's 'Donda 2' released on Stem Player". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Rose, Jordan (January 27, 2022). "Kanye West Reveals Release Date for 'Donda 2,' Which Is Executive Produced by Future". Complex. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Donda 2. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ↑ Pierre, Alphonse (March 2, 2022). "Kanye West - Donda 2". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ https://genius.com/albums/Donda/Donda-2
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://open.spotify.com/album/5qmBulRQR05gKH2r7fRofg
- ↑ Aswad, Jem (December 13, 2021). "Kanye West Makes Surprise Appearance With Future at Rolling Loud California Festival". Variety. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Espinoza, Joshua (December 29, 2021). "Video Shows Kanye Jamming in Studio Alongside Scarface". Complex. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Price, Joe (January 3, 2022). "Exclusive: Ye Has Started Working on 'Donda 2,' Says Steven Victor". Complex. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Siegler, Mara (January 7, 2022). "Kanye West and Cardi B to shoot a music video at Miami Balenciaga store". Page Six. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ (January 13, 2022). "Kanye West under investigation for criminal battery... allegedly punched fan". TMZ. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ u/entrepreneur707 (January 13, 2022). "Julia talks about relationship with Ye. Says the songs he has with Future are insane". Reddit. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Callas, Brad (January 29, 2022). "Kanye West Is Giving Up His Phone Until 'Donda 2' Is Finished". Complex. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Shifferaw, Abel, Cowen, Trace William (February 17, 2022). "Kanye West Announces 'Donda 2' Will 'Only Be Available' on Stem Player, Passed on $100 Million Apple Deal (UDPATE)". Complex. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Walker, Joe (February 18, 2022). "Kanye West reveals 'Donda 2' tracklist while celebrating anti-streaming 'revolution'". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Lavin, Will (March 3, 2022). "Kanye West explains why he threw microphone down during 'Donda 2' event". NME. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Watching the Throne (February 25, 2022). "Kanye immediately removed "Keep It Burning" from Stem Player | Donda 2". YouTube. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Young, Alex (March 30, 2016). "Kanye West updates 12 tracks on The Life of Pablo, album available everywhere on Friday". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodAssSub/comments/1cizitv/yzyjohnny_exclusive_leaked_donda_2_phone_call/
- ↑ J. Horowitz, Steven (March 19, 2025). "Kanye West Releases New Album ‘Bully’ Via Film Starring His Son Saint West". Variety. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodAssSub/comments/1jqwd6e/donda_2_is_coming_to_streaming_according_to/
- ↑ https://x.com/seanleon/status/1908173046302617782
- ↑ https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/streamers/news-sneako-n3on-discuss-donda-2-tracklist-kanye-west-digital-nas-s-kick-stream
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodAssSub/comments/1kdw9a8/_/
- ↑ Stutz, Colin (March 4, 2022). "With ‘Donda 2’ Stem Player Release, Kanye West Skips Streamers — And the Charts". Billboard Pro. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Kaufman, Gil (March 9, 2022). "Kanye West Reacts to ‘Donda 2’ Ineligibility on Billboard Charts: ‘Big Win For the Kid’". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ↑ Zhang, Charlie. "Kanye West’s Stem Player Sales Generate $2.2M Within 24 Hours". EQ Trendroom. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ↑ https://x.com/Kurrco/status/1918745832058147110
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