Donda, Kayne West’s 10th album, is simultaneously in a released and unreleased state. What’s going on? This isn’t Schrödinger’s cat. Donda was originally scheduled to be released last July; the album shares its name with Kayne’s late mother. The release was soon postponed indefinitely, however. Fast-forward to last month, on July 22, when Kanye held a listening party at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where he decided he would release his album the following day. 2 Chainz reportedly recorded a new verse right at the very last minute. With tens of thousands of spectators in their seats, Kanye, dressed in Gap-collaborated attire, wandered around the empty stadium floor as the album played back in its entirety, then disappeared. Apple Music had exclusive rights to the broadcast, which 3.3 million viewers tuned in to watch. 

But the album wasn’t released. Instead, even more interesting news began to emerge. Kanye took up residence in one of the stadium’s locker rooms and set it up as a recording studio to continue working on the album. Once again, a listening party was scheduled, this time for August 5, with the day following set to be the new release day. He was reportedly paying $1 million every day in order to use the locker room as his accommodations. The August 5 listening party was staged as a show approximating performance art under the direction of Balenciaga’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia. This event was broadcast live exclusively by Apple Music as well, setting an all-time high for the company with 5.4 million viewers. Sales of merchandise alone at the stadium amounted to $7 million.

His current approach is reminiscent of his two albums that came out before 2019’s gospel album, JESUS IS KING. First, when Ye was released in 2018, the listening party was the most important event. Second, Kayne is currently changing and rerecording his album for each listening party. In 2016, the tracklist and even the tracks themselves on The Life of Pablo changed even after the album had already been available on streaming services. It wasn’t a deluxe edition; he just changed it. What is an album in the age of streaming? Is an album immutable once completed? Kayne didn’t seem to think so.

At the time of writing this article, there’s no way of knowing whether Donda will see its release on August 20. However, over the course of the two listening parties, Kanye’s message has become clear—never mind whether the album is completed or ever released. What if we can’t listen to Donda—not only physically, but if we’re not even able to stream it? Is it really an album if it’s only possible to listen to it together in the same place with Kanye? Has it already been released? Kayne’s listening parties are different from not only contemporary live performances, but also performances from before recording and album technologies existed. Kanye didn’t say a word at either listening party: He was in the moment, listening along to Donda with the audience members who paid upwards of $100 to get in. It’s not possible to rewatch it live on Apple Music; there’s only traces of it left on YouTube.

TRIVIA

Kanye West

Kanye has often compared himself to American historical figures. He's referred to Picasso, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes and Harry Truman in several interviews and social media posts, but the one he can’t seem to shake is Disney. To be sure, many people are curious about the comparison to Disney. But if Donda never sees a release, and instead can only be experienced at listening parties, it’ll be reasonable to label it Kayne’s version of Disneyland.