Kanye West On Pace To Make Billboard History With "DONDA"

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Kanye West is expected to make a historical debut on the Billboard 200 with "DONDA."

Over the past few weeks, there's been a massive debate about who would win a battle of first-week sales: Drake or Kanye West. Drizzy, of course, took home the Billboard Artist Of The Decade Award, an accolade earned from an unmatched run and plenty of Billboard-topping singles and albums. This morning's release of DONDA means that we won't have the epic showdown between the commercial giants but Kanye's still bound to do some massive numbers. 

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Kanye West's DONDA could very well set a tone for the century on the Billboard 200. Though album projections haven't been confirmed yet, the rapper is expected to outsell Halsey, even after losing two full streaming days. Kanye West could "break the record for the most #1 albums on the Billboard 200 among artists debuting on the chart this century with #DONDA," per chartdata. 

Ye's album arrived at the wee hours of the morning after it was revealed on Friday that DONDA had been submitted to his label. His new album boasts the original version of "Jail" ft Jay-Z, along with "Hurricane" ft. The Weeknd and Lil Baby. While Thursday's listening party revealed that artists like Kid Cudi had been removed from certain songs, it seems that Kanye West took in the feedback of his fans.

Earlier today, Kanye claimed that the release of the delay in the album's release was due to DaBaby's label refusing to clear his verse. Ultimately, DaBaby's manager, Arnold Taylor, cleared the air and said he only received the song this morning and immediately signed off on it. 

Regardless, the album is here in its entirety. Check out the features and production credits here. 


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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