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Kanye West: Producer Mike Dean says he ‘hasn’t quit’ Donda project amid fan rumours

Record producer says he’s ‘helping himself’ after reportedly returning from Atlanta to his LA home

Roisin O'Connor
Sunday 15 August 2021 15:04 BST
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Footage leaked from Kanye West listening party

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Mike Dean has denied rumours that he has quit Kanye West’s much-delayed 10th album, Donda.

The record producer, who has worked on previous West albums – including Graduation and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – along with records by Beyonce, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Madonna and Frank Ocean, has reportedly had enough of the “toxic” working environment surrounding the project.

Fans noticed that Dean apparently tweeted “f*** it” and that he was “glad to be back at the house”, suggesting he has returned to his home in LA and is no longer in Atlanta with West.

Dean reportedly also tweeted: “I left Monday. Secretly. Had to get away.”

While some tweets have been deleted, Dean also replied to a fan who asked him to “then go help Kanye”, tweeting: “Helping myself. Thx.”

However, Dean later addressed the rumours and tweeted: “I haven’t quit anything. The album continues. Lol. People read too much into tweets. Lol.”

Donda has repeatedly been delayed, revisited then scrapped again, with West attempting to make changes to tracks hours before each scheduled release date.

The follow-up to his 2019 album Jesus is King was delayed last year and rescheduled for July, only to be delayed again after West held a listening party for 40,000 fans at the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.

A new date was announced on 6 August, but again, the album failed to materialise.

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