While Kanye West may be busy making controversial statements about the thirteenth amendment, his fans have not forgotten that his new album was supposed to be released over the weekend.
The rapper previously announced that his ninth studio album, which looks set to be titled Yandhi, would be released on 29 September following his appearance on Saturday Night Live. However, the record was never released, and the album heavily delayed.
Here's everything we know so far about the album:
Is Yandhi still coming?
UPDATE: West's wife, Kim Kardashian West, confirmed that the album has been delayed until 23 November (Black Friday 2018). On Twitter, she added: "Trust me it's worth the wait."
Appearing on TMZ, West himself confirmed the delay, saying that he hoped to record in Africa later in the year. “It’s just a full Ye album, and those five albums that I dropped earlier were like superhero rehabilitation,” he said, referring to the five albums he produced and released earlier in the year.
ORIGINAL: Considering how sporadic and temperamental West’s current behaviour appears to be, there’s no way anyone can know for sure whether he intends on still releasing the album or scrapping it all together.
Delaying the album 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 The Life of Pablo follow-up – the seven-track album ye.
However, Turbo Grafx 16 never had an exact release date, unlike Yandhi which also has an album cover – a clear MiniDisk with purple tape on it, reminicent of the 2013 album cover for Yeezus. Fans and music critics have speculated that West has delayed the album so it doesn't compete with Lil Wayne’s new record Tha Carter V, although a Tweet from West contested this.
The Independent has reached out to West’s representatives in a hope of getting a new release date.
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 tracks over the last few weeks, including the aforementioned Lil Pump collaboration “I Love It” and the track “XTCY”.
During his Saturday Night Live appearance he also performed “We Got Love” with Teyana Taylor, a track initially meant for her album K.T.S.E, which was produced by West and released earlier this year.
There’s also a snippet of a track available on Instagram. The nearly minute-long clip came alongside a message reading: “Yandhi is releasing this Saturday”.
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, who West says recorded vocals before his untimely death earlier this year.
