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Kanye West brings out Marilyn Manson and DaBaby during Donda listening party in Chicago

DaBaby appeared to replace Jay-Z on a guest verse of a new track

Annabel Nugent
Friday 27 August 2021 07:59 BST
Footage leaked from Kanye West listening party

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Kanye West brought out Marilyn Manson and DaBaby at a Donda listening party which took place in Chicago.

Last night (26 August), West hosted the third listening party for his forthcoming album. While the previous two events took place in Atlanta, this latest one was broadcast live from his hometown of Chicago.

Viewers were able to watch the broadcast via Apple Music. For Thursday’s show, West built a replica of his childhood home in South Shore.

The rapper, however, invited controversy by bringing out both Manson and DaBaby at the event.

Manson appeared alongside West, standing together on the stoop of the fake house.

The shock rocker is currently facing multiple lawsuits from women – including his former partner Evan Rachel Wood – who claim that he sexually and physically abused them.

Manson has denied all allegations, calling them “horrible distortions of reality”. He was dropped from his record label earlier this year with his booking agent CAA announcing that it had severed ties with him.

While Manson appeared alongside West during the event, at this moment it remains unclear whether he has any musical involvement on Donda.

(Apple Music)

As reported by NME, Manson and West were accompanied on the set-up porch by a masked figure many people online thought to be DaBaby.

The trio stood on the porch alongside West as the first song of the event, rumoured to be titled “Jail” , played overhead.

Listeners were surprised to hear DaBaby deliver a guest verse on the song in question, given that previously heard versions of the same track featured Jay-Z instead.

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MARILYN MANSON
MARILYN MANSON (AP)

On it, DaBaby appears to address the controversy surrounding him, rapping: “I said one thing they ain’t like and they threw me out like garbage.”

Earlier this month, the rapper attracted widespread criticism after he launched into a homophobic rant while performing on stage at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami.

DaBaby performs on stage during Rolling Loud Miami in 2021
DaBaby performs on stage during Rolling Loud Miami in 2021 (Getty Images)

The rapper – real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk – called out members of the LGBTQ+ community and people with HIV and AIDS.

Using crude language, he asked attendees who weren’t gay men or people affected by HIV or AIDS to raise their mobile phone flashlights, incorrectly stating that the disease would “make you die in two or three weeks”.

DaBaby was subsequently removed from the line-up for Lollapalooza music festival, with other musicians– including Madonna, Elton John, and his former collaborator Dua Lipa – calling him out over his “horrific” remarks.

The Independent has contacted a representative of West’s for comment.

West has been promoting his tenth studio album since last year. Despite multiple listening parties for Donda, the record remains unreleased.

A listing on Apple Music states that the album is scheduled to arrive today (27 August) following this latest listening party.

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