Kanye West new album 'Yandhi' release date, collaborators, tracks — Everything we know
The rapper has delayed the record once again...
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Your support makes all the difference.Kanye West has been promising a new album for months.
The rapper previously announced that his ninth studio album, which looks set to be titled Yandhi, would be released on 29 September following an appearance on Saturday Night Live. However, soon after the performance, West announced the album would be heavily delayed as he travelled to Africa to record.
Kim Kardashian West revealed that the album could be expected on the 23 November (Black Friday 2018), with the reality star adding: "Trust me it's worth the wait."
Following a performance a performance at Tyler, the Creator's music festival Camp Flog Gnaw with Kid Cudi under the name Kids See Ghosts, West revealed the album would be delayed once more.
"After performing again, I realise the new album I’ve been working on isn’t ready yet," he wrote on Twitter. "I’ll announce the release date once it’s done. Thank you for understanding."
These delays are not the only times West has decided to release the album later than expected. Below, we go into the artist's history of delaying (and scrapping) albums and what to expect on Yandhi.
A history of delays
West has a history of sporadic and temperamental behaviour, both with regards politics and album releases.
Delaying Yandhi inevitably would not be an unprecedented move for West. Take, for instance, Turbo Grafx 16, a record he promised to release in the summer of 2016. The album never materialised, with fans having to wait until summer 2018 for West’s follow-up to The Life of Pablo – the seven-track album ye.
The wait was worth it, as ye came accompanied by four other West-produced records, including Cudi collaboration Kids See Ghosts, Pusha T's Daytona, Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E., and Nas's Nasir.
"Those five albums that I dropped earlier were like superhero rehabilitation,” West said of the records, while also promising the upcoming release will be a "full" album.
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An album cover
Yandhi already has an album cover – a clear MiniDisk with purple tape on it.
Considering how the album has been delayed multiple times, chances are the album cover could also be changed, especially as the MiniDisk cover is reminiscent of the 2013's Yeezus cover. If West has changed the record sonically, perhaps the visuals will also change?
What have we heard of Yandhi so far?
Whether any previously released tracks will actually appear on the album remains to be seen. However, West has released a couple of loose tracks this year, including the Lil Pump collaboration “I Love It” and the track “XTCY”.
During his Saturday Night Live appearance, West performed “We Got Love” with Teyana Taylor, a track initially meant for her album K.T.S.E, which he produced.
West also released a snippet of a track on Instagram, uploaded during the build-up to the album's initial release on the 29 September. Again, with so many changes to the record, chances are the full song may never see the light of day.
Who will feature on Yandhi?
A variety of other artists are rumoured to appear on the record, including regular collaborators Kid Cudi, 070 Shake, Ty Dolla Sign and Young Thug.
Perhaps the most controversial collaborators expected to appear on the record include 6ix9ine and XXXTenacion, the latter of whom West says recorded vocals before his untimely death earlier this year.
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