"Welcome To UCLA" sometimes referred to "Jam 6" as is an unreleased song by Kanye West that was created during the Yandhi sessions. It is named after the University of California, Los Angeles, which Kanye was hospitalized in following his rants during the Saint Pablo Tour in November 2016.[1]
Background[]
While the song has been mistaken to have originated from Turbo Grafx 16, the earliest known version of the song was made during the Yandhi sessions with Timbaland in December 2018.[2] Although, it is rumored that an even earlier version of the song exists from the LOVE EVERYONE era. The song was brought back in March 2019 (under the title, "UCLA")[3], though it was later scrapped.
In 2021, Kanye began to work on the song again for his then-upcoming album, Donda.[4] A leaked file name reveals that the song was brought back on March 27 during the Pio Pico sessions. The song was brought back again during the Mercedes-Benz sessions in July, with new production from Digital Nas and Fya Man.
On July 22, a photo was posted on Instagram which featured Kanye and the tentative track list for Donda. While it was blurry, fans were able to decipher what it said and it revealed that "Welcome To UCLA" was set to be the nineteenth track. However, the song was not previewed at any of the listening parties for Donda and it was eventually scrapped before the album's release.[5]