A leaked documentary covering the making of Kanye West's 2021 album, Donda, has revealed that the rapper threatened to remove several artists from the project, including Jay-Z. The documentary, which surfaced online, showcased a scene where Kanye West had an intense phone conversation inside a locker room, discussing the listening party and the consequences for those who did not attend, Yahoo reports.
Behind The Scenes For The Making Of The Album “DONDA” By Kanye West💽 pic.twitter.com/4vBbQ7PuMx
— Rap301 (@Rap301_) June 7, 2023
In the conversation, Kanye declared, “Everybody that's not here, I'm taking their verses off… I'm taking Jay-Z verse, I'm taking – if there's anybody not here on the porch with me, they're not on this version.” Following the call, Kanye looked into the camera, chuckled, and remarked on the nature of such conversations.
Interestingly, despite Kanye's initial threat, Jay-Z's verse on “Jail” remained intact in the final release of the album. This collaboration between the two artists marked a significant highlight, as it was their first since Drake's 2016 record “Pop Style.” Their relationship had soured in the years that followed due to Kanye's outbursts and association with Donald Trump. However, their apparent reconciliation was reflected in Jay-Z's lyrics, which included the line, “This might be the return of The Throne/ Hova and Yeezus, like Moses and Jesus.”
The leaked documentary also featured never-before-seen footage, showcasing Kanye's reflections on his late mother, Donda West, during a visit to his childhood home in Chicago. It depicted him working on various songs in the studio, delivering impassioned speeches and prayers to his team, and collaborating with artists such as Pusha T, Playboi Carti, Fivio Foreign, Rick Rubin, and Mike Dean.
Notably, Kanye made changes to the album throughout its creation, resulting in guest vocals or entire collaborations being cut. This affected artists like Pusha T and Kid Cudi, whose relationships with Kanye had become strained in recent months.
Donda was released on August 29, 2021, and achieved great success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and selling 309,000 album equivalent units.
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