Kanye West has revealed that his upcoming album Donda 2 will be exclusively available on his Stem Player device.
The album is currently scheduled for release on February 22nd, but, knowing Ye, the chances of the record being released at that date are slim. We are likely in for another lengthy roll-out campaign, although, he is hosting a ‘Donda Listening Experience’ in Miami on that day, so perhaps it is ready after all.
West launched the Stem Player last year, which retails at $200, and it allows users to customise any songs such as controlling vocals, drums, bass, and samples and also to isolate parts.
Revealing his decision on Instagram, Ye said: “Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes. It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own.” West has previous on this subject,
Back in 2016, ‘The Life Of Pablo’ was released solely to Tidal, with West claiming the album would remain a permanent exclusive to the streaming platform.
Less than two months later, it was released on other platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, prompting a lawsuit soon after, accusing West and Tidal’s Jay-Z of false advertising. The lawsuit was later settled, with its terms undisclosed.
Ye started working with Digital Nas after the pair were introduced, thanks to fashion designer Mowalola Ogunlesi. He then contributed to the tracks ‘Junya’ and ‘Remote Control’ on Donda.
Nas is one of the producers who is currently working on the sequel, and in a new interview with Rolling Stone, he’s opened on the process. He claims the sound is “more monk-like” than the predecessor, and his role has largely been to “simplify” the production.
The 23-year-old said: “These are the directives for the album: ‘If it cannot be played at a funeral, childbirth, graduation [or] a wedding, it will not be on our record.”
He added: “We learned a lot from Donda 1. We learned what hit. We learned what was sticking. So we took [it] from there.”
