“Kanye gave me this verse a couple of months ago when he was just all over the media, because of all of the things that were going on,” Cardi told Lowe. “I like how his verse, it’s personal, but it’s not that personal.”

“I’m so happy that he gave me this verse,” she added. “And I had a lot of conversations with Kanye West. I learned so much about him and he’s such an amazing, sweet person. I’ve been feeling like, I wish a lot of people have conversations with him so they could just see the real … the him.”

During the chat, Cardi also revealed that ‘Hot Shit’ was first recorded in 2019, but she felt it needed a male feature.

“I did not know which male artist to put on this record because this has a certain type of beat that I feel like only certain artists could freak it,” she said.

She secured her verse from West before approaching Lil Durk at the suggestion of her record label, with the rapper handing over his part in a day.

“I feel like Durk verse is really street,” she said. “I see almost Bronx kids listening to his verse. And then when Kanye verse come in, you see people that are more into that money, that grown shit.”

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The track is another taste of the rapper’s forthcoming album, following ‘WAP’ and ‘Up’. In December last year, she said she planned on releasing the record in 2022, and has since cited “technical difficulties” as the reason for its delay.

It’ll mark the follow-up to her 2018 debut LP ‘Invasion of Privacy’, which earned her a Grammy for Best Rap Album.

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“So he seen that, just talking to ’em, knew that we had a relationship with Kanye and then with Drake through J,” Hoover Jr. said about his father’s thoughts on the rappers feuding. “He seen them guys was at odds and he would hear about other artists and stuff, you know what I mean, killing each other and going to jail over back-and-forth nonsense. So he was just saying, ain’t there something y’all could do to try to bring them together?”

Kanye West, Kenny Burns and Drake in 2015 CREDIT: Prince Williams

Hoover Jr. also discussed both Drake and Kanye’s status as “the biggest artists in the world”. He added, “We put our efforts there and brought ’em together hoping that it would be a blueprint for the other artists to try to follow to look and see, like, if these guys can bring it together and put they differences aside and make money and enjoy life, maybe some other people will follow suit.”

“There are way too many of these guys out here, you know, feeling like they’re living the gangster life when they should be living the millionaire life and they dying and losing everything when they just get to that position,” he said. “They should be enjoying and bringing other people up instead of going to jail and dying and their friends dying. I thought they became entertainers to get out the street. That’s what it’s supposed to have been about.”

Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar recently wrote in a new song that he was “confused” by West and Drake‘s reunion last year.

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Lamar released his long-awaited, 73-minute fifth studio album ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ in May. On the track ‘Father Time’ – which features Sampha – he briefly shares his thoughts on West and Drake’s unlikely reconciliation.

“Daddy issues kept me competitive, that’s a fact, n***a / I don’t give a fuck what’s the narrative, I am that n***a / When Kanye got back with Drake, I was slightly confused / Guess I’m not as mature as I think, got some healin’ to do,” Lamar raps in the cut.

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Elsewhere in the set, Davidson asked “does anyone else secretly Kanye pulls a Mrs Doubtfire?” referencing Robin Williams’ 1993 film where the actor disguises himself as a Scottish housekeeper to see his children during a bitter divorce. “I come home one day and they’re like ‘this is the new housekeeper’. He’s like “what’s up fam?’”

Davidson also spoke about his friend Jack Harlow appearing on Kanye West’s ‘DONDA‘. “People ask does that bother me? No. He’s a rapper, that’s his field. That’s what they do” explained Davidson. “That doesn’t hurt my feelings. It would hurt my feelings if I saw (comedian) Bill Burr at Sunday Service.”

It comes after repeated attacks from Kanye West. Earlier this year his video for ‘Eazy’ saw the rapper kidnap and kill a claymated version of Davidson. The track also features the line “God saved me from that crash / Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”

Though he initially kept quiet on the matter, Davidson responded to West’s attacks a few days after the second ‘Eazy’ video landed, writing to the rapper in a text: “I’ve decided I’m not gonna let you treat us like this anymore and I’m done being quiet.”

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At the end of Davidson’s sets at Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, Machine Gun Kelly – a close friend, former housemate and longtime collaborator of the comedian – came onstage to perform a surprise three-song set. The pair duetted on the ‘Mainsteam Sellout’ cut ‘Ay!’, while MGK performed ‘Candy’ and ‘Make Up Sex’ by himself.

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“I feel like he’s dealing with some demons and anyone who needs support, we should give them that grace,” Emma McCardell, a 26-year-old attendee from Seattle, Washington said when asked about Kanye’s drop from the line-up. “If people need space, let them have their space.”

CREDIT: J Basjsel Courtesy of Coachella

Her partner, James who is also 26, shared in that sentiment. “It sucks that it was so last minute, but it feels like we’re watching him go through the worst moment of his life which is super weird because he’s such an outspoken guy.”

Both fans bought their tickets before seeing the line-up and were excited to see Phoebe Bridgers, Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, and Billie Eilish.

“She’s such a performer, and she cares so deeply about her music,” Emma said of Eilish. “I’m really excited to see it happen.”

As far as who they would’ve gone with for Sunday night’s closeout set, James said the “Silk Sonic rumours” had gotten him really excited, before adding that Elton John would’ve also been a great pick “for the history”.

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Fans attend Coachella 2022 CREDIT: G Noire Courtesy of Coachella

Dan Flynn, a 23-year-old attendee from New Port Beach, said he “really liked” that Kanye pulled himself from the line-up, adding that he’d “prefer to see someone whose along the lines of EDM music”.

His friend, 25-year-old Evan Clark of Los Angeles, agreed. “As much as we love Kanye West, I feel like he was going to pull out the whole time,” he said. “Old Kanye is not new Kanye. Hopefully, Swedish House Mafia fills his boots.”

Clark also said that he thought Goldenvoice, the producers of Coachella, missed out on the opportunity to bring out “an old school rock and roll band” before saying: “my new vote is AC/DC to replace Kanye.”

Coachella Festival 2022 CREDIT: L Gerber courtesy of Coachella

Another attendee called Jane Marshall from Los Angeles said that she was “bummed” at first that Ye was dropped from the line-up but also felt like he needed to “sit down” because of his recent remarks.

She also remarked, however, that after watching the Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, she’d had renewed “respect for Kanye as an artist” and felt like she was “missing out” on not seeing him.

Although Marshall mentioned she wasn’t too excited about The Weeknd headlining since she’d seen him play multiple times in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, she was excited about Megan Thee Stallion‘s set, although she felt the Houston-born rapper should have actually topped the festival’s bill.

Nima Chetlany, from San Francisco, was “pretty bummed” when Kanye pulled out, ” because she’s a fan even though he’s somewhat questionable.” She would’ve preferred a Tame Impala or Frank Ocean, headline, however, as opposed to Swedish House Mafia, or at the least, The Weeknd take the stage by himself.

The Coachella 2022 weekend has been filled with surprise guests and performances. Arcade Fire played a secret set on the first day of the festival, performing tracks from upcoming new album ‘WE’, due out next month.

Harry Styles headlined the night and was joined on stage by Shania Twain, who performed her hits ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ and ‘You’re Still The One’.

During his 18-song set, Styles gave a live debut to record-breaking comeback single ‘As It Was’ as well as live debuts to new tracks called ‘Boyfriends’ and ‘Late Night Talking’.

Carly Rae Jepsen also debuted a brand new track called ‘Western Wind’, which she had been teasing for the past few weeks; Justin Bieber teamed up with Daniel Caesar for a performance of their collaborative single ‘Peaches’.

Friday also saw Phoebe Bridgers joined by Arlo Parks for two songs during her set, while Saturday’s proceedings were headlined by Billie Eilish, who was joined onstage by Damon Albarn for a two-song cameo.

Check back at NME all weekend for more reviews, news, interviews, photos and more from Coachella 2022.

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The rapper’s remark garnered all types of reaction online and sparked a debate on who of the two producers actually did more for him.

The latest guest to appear on Drink Champs is Snoop Dogg, who has worked with both The Game and Dr. Dre. During his interview, N.O.R.E. brought up the comments made by The Game.

Before taking Snoop’s opinion on it, the show’s co-host revealed that he showed West the specific clip and he responded by saying: “I don’t think Game should’ve said that.”

Snoop then said that he can’t agree or disagree with The Game’s opinion. “That’s his personal experience,” Snoop said. “Kanye could’ve shown him something, Dre not really good at showing you nothing. He’s basically good at bringing your talents to light, to where it’s about you not what he do for you.

He added: “I couldn’t answer that, but Game is my little homie so I respect everything he say and do.”

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Meanwhile, Kanye West has made his debut on Forbes’ billionaire list alongside Rihanna and JAY-Z.

According to the annual list, Rihanna has now become the world’s richest female musician with a net worth of $1.7billion (£1.3billion), largely thanks to her Fenty Beauty business and Savage X Fenty lingerie line.

She sits at number 1,729 on the worldwide list of richest billionaires, with JAY-Z following at 2,076 with a net worth of $1.4billion (£1.1billion). West sits higher than both of them at 1,513 with a net worth of $2billion (£1.5billion).

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It comes after The Game recently appeared with West, now legally known as Ye, on their collaborative track ‘Eazy’ and he appeared at the ‘Donda 2’ listening party last week.

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Although he doesn’t elaborate further in the clip, his comments come despite the fact Dr. Dre signed The Game to his label Aftermath Entertainment in 2003 and he went on to produce his successful 2004 debut ‘The Documentary’.

Meanwhile, West recently updated his bespoke Stem Player platform to add 12 new songs to ‘Donda 2’, bringing it up to a current total of 16 tracks.

It comes after he said the record would only be available to listen to on his Stem Player device. First released alongside the original ‘Donda’ last year, the device – available for $200 (£150) – allows owners to remix the album’s songs using stems of vocals, drums, bass, samples and more, plus effects and other controls.

The rapper said he had made over $2.2million (£1.6m) in Stem Player sales in the 24 hours following his announcement it would be the only way to listen to ‘Donda 2’.

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Earlier this week, West also shared photos of himself in the studio with Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House, suggesting that a collaboration between the two may be on the way.

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He gave no indication as to when any further tracks will be released from the record.

THANK YOU PRODUCERS
FIRST FOUR DONDA 2 TRACKS LIVE
SECURITY, PABLO, OPEN ROAD, WE DID IT KID
GO TO https://t.co/81me2iWKLs
CONNECT YOUR STEMPLAYER
CLICK GET DONDA 2
STAND BY FOR MORE pic.twitter.com/URMvdGtaCQ

— STEM PLAYER (@stemplayer) February 23, 2022

It comes after West held a listening party for his forthcoming new album and a live event in Miami, last night.

Fans were played around 45 minutes of music, including both previously-unreleased tracks such as ‘Flowers’ and recent collaborations like ‘Eazy’ with The Game along with Pusha T‘s latest single ‘Diet Coke’, with Pusha appearing onstage alongside Ye as it played.

Other unreleased tracks West played featured the likes of Migos and Jack Harlow, both of whom also appeared beside Ye as their respective contributions played.

Following an appearance from Ye’s Sunday Service Choir, the event moved to a live performance, with the him performing multiple songs from ‘Donda’ – including ‘Hurricane’, ‘Off the Grid’ (featuring Fivio Foreign and Playboy Carti) and ‘Jail 2’.

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For the latter, Ye was joined by the track’s controversial featured artists: Marilyn Manson, who is facing multiple allegations and lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, which he has denied, and DaBaby, who faced backlash last year after making homophobic comments during a festival appearance.

Fivio Foreign and Alicia Keys also appeared alongside West to perform their recent collaboration, ‘City Of Gods’.

Kanye revealed late last week that ‘Donda 2’ would only be available to listen to on his Stem Player device.

Over the weekend, he said he had made over $2.2million (£1.6m) in Stem Player sales in the 24 hours following his announcement it would be the only way to listen to ‘Donda 2’.

“I walked away from Apple right after having the most number 1’s in Apple history. Song Writers have been really hurt by streaming platforms,” West said of his decision to release ‘Donda 2’ exclusively through his Stem Player in a since-deleted Instagram post.

“Some say I’m the only one who can make this change. So as the leading innovator in music of the past 20 years. I’m putting my own work on the line to change it. I’ve already won by not being afraid to move. Now we’re winning because there are true supporters that have invested their hard earned money in my vision of freedom.”

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Now, West has taken to social media to announce that the follow-up to last year’s ‘DONDA’ will arrive on February 22 and that it will be executive produced by Future.

“DONDA2 COMING 2 22 22 EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY FUTURE,” West wrote on Instagram. The post comes alongside a mockup image of his childhood home, on fire and on a billboard pole, with the date “2 22 22” displayed on the side of it.

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A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)

 

News of West’s new album comes after various clips of footage surfaced of him in the studio with rappers Scarface and Blueface. West was also said to be in the studio with both Post Malone and Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes this past September.

West released ‘DONDA’ on August 29, last year after multiple delays throughout the month and several changes to the album itself. The progress of the album was charted through several listening parties, where West would make changes to it following each one.

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In a three-star review, NME described ‘DONDA’ as “incredibly – and unnecessarily – long”.

“There are plenty of seeds of what could be good ideas here, and some legit great tracks, but had he taken a little more time to edit things, this could have been a classic,” the review read.

Meanwhile, West has recently said that he believes paparazzi should share the profits they make from photos with the artists being photographed.

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In a statement to Complex Magazine, Steven Victor – who worked with West as COO of his label, G.O.O.D Music – claimed that West was working on what he described as “his new masterpiece”.

West later confirmed Victor’s statement in a text message conversation with Moneybagg Yo. “I got to lock in with you on Donda 2,” West texted the Memphis rapper. “Money in front of us. Bullshit behind us.”

Moneybagg Yo was recently seen in the studio with Ye, The Game and controversial NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Kanye And Blueface👀 pic.twitter.com/vrEOY1rSK4

— Rap301 (@_Rap301) January 13, 2022

 

The news of West working on new music comes under a week after footage surfaced of him in the studio with rapper Scarface. West was also said to be in the studio with both Post Malone and Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes this past September.

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West revealed this week that he’s planning to release a new song soon – one that is likely to feature Pusha T, The Game and DJ Premier.

The rapper and producer, who is now legally known as Ye, spoke about the plans during a recorded phone call with Premier earlier this week, which has since surfaced online.

He was also spotted with Madonna and a host of other notable celebrities listening to Drake‘s music during a gathering in LA on Wednesday (January 12).

West released the original ‘DONDA’ on August 29, after multiple delays throughout the month and several changes to the album itself. The progress of the album was charted through several listening parties, where West would make changes to it following each one.

In a three-star review, NME‘s Rhian Daly described ‘DONDA’ as “incredibly – and unnecessarily – long”.

“There are plenty of seeds of what could be good ideas here, and some legit great tracks, but had he taken a little more time to edit things, this could have been a classic,” the review added.

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Last week it was reported that tickets for the event were going for around $7,500 (£5,667) [via HipHopDX].

Schreiber wrote in a caption alongside the aerial footage: “Massive build out tonight for the Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Drake concert set for Dec. 9th at the LA Coliseum. Looks like a circular mound is being built with sand and concrete or stucco. At first, thought this was a monster truck rally setup.”

Massive build out tonight for the Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Drake concert set for Dec. 9th at the LA Coliseum . Looks like a circular mound is being built with sand and concrete or stucco. At first, thought this was a monster truck rally setup. @CBSLA #Ye #Drake #KanyeWest pic.twitter.com/Z56DrbTcY5

— John Schreiber (@johnschreiber) December 6, 2021

Ye had extended an olive branch to Drake and invited him to appear at the forthcoming Los Angeles show to raise awareness and advocate for the freedom of Hoover, who is currently serving six life sentences for charges relating to gang activity.

Hoover’s son urged Drake to accept Ye’s peace offering, saying Drake is “a leader and leaders make decisions that people follow”.

Meanwhile, Drake has been named in at least one lawsuit pertaining to the crowd surge tragedy at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld that left 10 people dead.

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One part of the sit down hears Simmons recall meeting West – now legally known as Ye – for the first time, when he was a kid coming in for haircuts at a local Chicago barbershop.

“He would come with beats,” Simmons recalls in the clip. “I remember he had the one beat that JAY-Z picked later on in life called H to Izz-O [‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.)’]. Yo, this was so ill. Here was this kid with braces … talented. This dude wasn’t scared of nothing.”

Ozah describes the film is a “whole history lesson of music”. He adds: “We’re crossing generations in three films. At the end, Kanye is collaborating with artists that were babies. But the crazy part is that Kanye’s a throughline; still as relevant at the end as he is in the beginning because his music passes the test of time.”

You can watch the pair discuss jeen-yuhs below:

Earlier this week it was revealed that Kanye West is currently working on a plan to help the homeless population of Los Angeles.

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According to TMZ, the rapper has joined forces with philanthropic organisations in a bid to tackle the problem in the California city. It’s said that Ye recently sat down with Reverend Troy Vaughn, CEO of homeless charity LA Mission, to outline four ways he can help.

The rapper and producer wants to continue providing food to homeless people by partnering with various charities in LA. Additionally, he’s looked at using his own companies to provide education, jobs and housing to those in need.

Meanwhile, the bear costume famously used on tour and in promotional duties for Kanye West‘s 2004 debut album, The College Dropout, has been put up for sale for $1million (£740,000).

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The ‘Free Larry Hoover’ benefit concert will take place on December 9 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. No ticketing details have been announced yet.

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The concert marks progress after a reunion between the two feuding artists took place last week. In an Instagram post, Drake and Ye are seen posing alongside music executive and Ye’s friend J. Prince. Ye captioned the image with an emoji of a white dove.

Hoover’s son Larry Hoover Jr. spoke about the upcoming concert in an interview on the Murder Master Music Show published on YouTube on November 18.

Hoover Jr. had revealed that both artists would appear “together advocating for freeing Larry Hoover.”

“We’re going to get the word out to as many people as we can,” he continued. “We gotta let the powers that be know that we want Larry Hoover in our community. That’s gonna be a big way to do it. Plus we want to show people of other communities that we can come together in peace.”

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Ye had originally sparked the reunion in a video message posted publicly by J. Prince. In the clip, Ye read a statement from his phone, inviting Drake to perform at the concert as a special guest.

“I believe this event will not only bring awareness to our cause but prove to people everywhere how much more we can accomplish when we lay our pride aside and come together,” he said.

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“I think they tried to buy or purchase that from the high school,” he said. “They were turned down… Obviously, it was going to be the basis for everything going forward [so] they went out and bought this suit which was then what they used on the DVD cover and for future promotions.”

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Arginsky explained that he was given the suit itself – used on tour, at awards shows, promo visuals, and more – after initially attempting to design the plush bear range from two-dimensional sketches.

He also shared a sample of a medium-sized plush Dropout Bear featuring velcro paws to ensure the toy’s ability to throw up the Roc sign, and intimated he is willing to consider offers on the suit itself.

“I love business and opportunity so the best thing that could ever happen is someone from Ye’s camp sees this video and reaches out to you to bring this opportunity back and then you and I are producing bears tomorrow,” Arginsky said.

“That’s what I’m really hoping for. I know that the percentages are very slim on that one. But yeah, I would say at this point I’m really open to anything.”

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Asked if he would consider a $1million offer, Arginsky responded that he “would say yes”, but is also open museum or charity approaches.

Earlier today, Ye and Drake have posed together for a photo at the latter’s home, appearing to signal an end to the pair’s longstanding beef, which was been ongoing since at least 2009.

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“Drake, you a leader and leaders make decisions that people follow,” Hoover Jr. said in a video posted by TMZ earlier today (November 10). “Man, this would be big. This is like Michael Jackson and Prince … Come together, put whatever y’all differences are down … Let’s be bigger than that.”

“[The concert] is also to pass the message that [my father] qualifies to come home as far as the First Step Act is concerned,” he added. “People are concerned about what he might do, but this is the type of things that he can do — he can bring people together, he can hopefully bring a lot of peace to our community.”

Hoover Jr. conceded that the concert might not happen, but asked that Drake consider the offer for his family’s sake.

“I would appreciate it and my father would appreciate it,” he added. “Me and my mother spoke with Drake and he was saying that he is willing to extend the hand and help out however he can. The concert thing, we still working on that.

“Mr. Prince is dealing with Drake and speaking with him directly, so he would have to pretty much pass the information on for that as far as him coming all the way in. But hopefully in a few days it’s looking good, it’s looking like he should be moving forward to maybe take part in this whole thing.”

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Larry Hoover has been in prison since 1973 when he was convicted of killing 19-year-old drug dealer William “Pooky” Young, and has since faced additional charges of conspiracy, extortion and money laundering following a long-running investigation into his alleged criminal enterprise.

Ye has been vocal about his support for Hoover’s release since 2018, when he met with then-President Donald Trump at the White House to negotiate his pardon. He also featured an emotional plea from Larry Hoover Jr. regarding his father’s incarceration on his latest album ‘DONDA’.

“Donda helped show people that my father is a human being,” Hoover Jr. told TMZ. “They look at my father as Larry Hoover the gangster and all the negative activity that they put around his name and that the media put there; DONDA was my first opportunity to give my narrative and let people see him as a person and know who he is.”

Meanwhile, West dedicated the latest edition of Sunday Service to the victims of the “mass-casualty” crowd crush at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld festival. Drake has since posted a statement saying his “heart is broken” after he appeared on stage with Scott during the set in question.

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It comes just weeks after West put his Wyoming ranch on the market for a reported $11million (£8.4 million).

Kanye West at his first ‘DONDA’ listening party at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Music Group

Meanwhile, West announced a special Halloween Sunday Service livestream, taking place later today (October 31).

The rapper posted the news to his Instagram earlier today. It will stream here on Triller and the Fite TV app, which are the same streaming platforms that host the VERZUZ rap battles, at 3pm ET (7pm GMT).

The last time Ye appeared with his Sunday Service choir, which first emerged in the run-up to the release of his ninth studio album ‘Jesus Is King‘ (2019), was in April for DMX’s memorial service.

He also worked with the choir on his most recent album, ‘DONDA‘, which hears “gospel flourishing scattered across the record – most notably beautifully harmonising with The Weeknd on ‘Hurricane’”, as NME noted in a talking points article.

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In other news, West’s ‘DONDA’ stem player has finally been unveiled and it comes with three extra songs.

The device, which was made available to order back in August at $200 (£145), allows users to manipulate songs using the player by separating parts of the compositions and tweaking the sounds. Among the features is the ability to “control vocals, drums, bass, and samples” and “split any song into stems.”

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West and his gospel group opened the service with an arrangement of Soul II Soul’s ‘Keep On Movin’ before singing the Clark Sisters’ ‘You Brought The Sunshine’, the hymn ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and their original song ‘Excellent’.

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And he worked with the choir on his most recent album, ‘DONDA‘, which hears “gospel flourishing scattered across the record – most notably beautifully harmonising with The Weeknd on ‘Hurricane’”, as NME noted in a talking points article.

Meanwhile, West’s ‘DONDA’ stem player has finally been unveiled and it comes with three extra songs.

The device, which was made available to order back in August at $200 (£145), allows users to manipulate songs using the player by separating parts of the compositions and tweaking the sounds. Among the features is the ability to “control vocals, drums, bass, and samples” and “split any song into stems’.

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The ‘Jesus Walks’ rapper spoke of the planned change during a radio interview in 2018, explaining: “I believe ‘ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible it means you. So I’m you, I’m us, it’s us.”

West went on to say that his name “went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye – just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything.”

Back in 2019, West considered changing his name to ‘Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West’, but didn’t follow through with the idea.

Kanye West. CREDIT: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

West’s name change follows the arrival of his long-teased album, ‘DONDA’. In a three-star review, NME‘s Rhian Daly said of the album: “The rapper’s 10th album follows an odyssey of delays and bizarre not-quite-release parties, the result merely punctuated with moments of brilliance.”

Earlier this month, the rapper’s manager Bu Thiam confirmed the album would be released following the third listening event in Chicago on Thursday (August 26). The event will also be live-streamed on Apple Music.

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Earlier this month, West earned his first ever Diamond certification, with ‘Stronger’ surpassing the 10 million sales mark.

Released in 2007 from West’s third album ‘Graduation’, the track has reached the milestone 14 years later.

Meanwhile, it’s been announced that an “intimate” new documentary about West, titled jeen-yuhs, is coming to Netflix next year.

jeen-yus was directed by Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah and will capture two decades of the rapper’s life and career. It promises to showcase “both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist”.

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Earlier this year, it was revealed just 58 songs have been certified Diamond, which is the Recording Industry Association of America highest honour and is worth the equivalent of ten Platinum plaques. Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ was the fastest song to ever earn the classification while tracks by Justin Bieber (‘Baby’, ‘Sorry’), Eminem (‘Not Afraid’, ‘Lose Yourself’), Lady Gaga (‘Poker Face’, ‘Bad Romance’) and Drake (‘God’s Plan’) have also achieved the milestone.

West also recently announced he is looking at expanding his empire of fashion and music.

According to legal documents, the rapper submitted papermark to trademark the name ‘DONDA’ for use on a range of tech products including tablets, smart watches and earphones.

He’s also made similar moves to trademark his name to create Kanye West branded blankets.

Meanwhile, it’s been announced that an “intimate” new documentary about West, titled jeen-yuhs, is coming to Netflix next year.

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jeen-yus was directed by Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah and will capture two decades of the rapper’s life and career. It promises to showcase “both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist”.

In other news, Tyler, The Creator recently thanked artists like West for paving the way for him in a speech after the rapper won the inaugural Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards.

“​​I definitely think I’ve created my own path but it’s the people who allowed me to understand that I can do that, who laid the blueprint,” said Tyler before shouting out likes of Missy Elliot, Kanye West, Q-Tip, Andre 3000, Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, Busta Rhymes and Hype Williams.

• Related Topics
• Kanye West
• Netflix
• Rap

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“I always get teared up when he says that because this thing that’s a hobby, a passion or a pastime for us, for a lot of people in here, that shit kept us out of trouble. And it allowed us to change our family’s lives, our friend’s lives, our lives,” he continued.

“With Rap, it’s like a pathway for a lot of us to really just go, to leave, to experience new shit that we’re really not allowed to see or shown from where we grow up.”

Tyler went on to add: “​​I definitely think I’ve created my own path but it’s the people who allowed me to understand that I can do that, who laid the blueprint. For everyone it’s different but I wouldn’t be here, or up on this stage, or have this silly hat, or anything without the Q-Tip’s, the Andre 3000’s, the Chad Hugo’s, the Pharrell’s, the Kanye West’s, and the Missy Elliot’s who no one ever brings up.”

He then went on to shout out Busta Rhymes and Hype Williams before he said: ”I appreciate those names, and others I didn’t mention because I’m limited on time, but I appreciate you all so much for opening the doors and throwing the key. Not just opening the door but talking to young guys like me.”

The rapper finished by telling the room, “everyone keep thriving, keep doing your shit.”

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Tyler released his new album ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ earlier this year where it topped the Billboard 200 Chart.

He also recently announced a tour of North America as well as Australia and New Zealand

• Related Topics
• Rap
• Tyler The Creator

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