Kanye West Claims DaBaby's Verse Delayed "DONDA" Release

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It looks like DaBaby's manager wasn't willing to clear his verse on Kanye West's "DONDA."

Kanye West captivated the world without actually releasing an album. It's the power of his celebrity, and artistry, especially as one of the few artists in the world who can directly call up DSPs and let them know that they'll need to upload his album whenever he says so. That's why there's been widespread frustration over the delays of DONDA -- an album that's gone through three listening parties but up until a few hours ago, wasn't on streaming services.

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Thursday night's listening party included a revamped version of "Jail" where DaBaby, who has been battling the effects of cancel culture, replaced Jay-Z.  DaBaby's verse largely addressed recent controversies but fans, in general, were disappointed that Kanye West went from building anticipation for Watch The Throne 2 to making some sort of shitty statement about cancel culture.

Thankfully, when DONDA dropped this morning, "Jail" came in its original form, including Hov's verse which he apparently recorded hours before the first listening session. However, it turns out that it was DaBaby's verse that prevented the album from dropping earlier. 'Ye shared a screenshot of a text conversation he had with his manager revealing that DaBaby's manager wasn't clearing "Jail." "So we won't be able to upload unless we take him off," reads a message sent to Kanye West.

"I'm not taking my brother off. He was the only person who said he would vote for me in public," Kanye responded. 

'Ye later shared another screenshot of an exchange he had with DaBaby directly. The beginning of the text reveals Kanye explaining to DaBaby that his album isn't coming out because of the verse not getting cleared before asking, "Did you know about this?" DaBaby said he had no idea and was about to message his manager.

"Yo manager cap. They tried to stop you from coming in. The people next to you trying to destroy you. But God gotta bigger plan," 'Ye said.

Thankfully, at least for the rest of us, Jay-Z's verse is still on "Jail" while DaBaby is not. However, this is Kanye West we're talking about and it would not be surprising if he quietly removed Hov to accommodate DaBaby. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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