Not much is known about Kanye West’s upcoming album Donda 2 but at least now we know when it’s allegedly coming out. The mercurial producer/rapper shared the release date with a fiery Instagram post depicting his childhood home going up in flames — a repeated image from the rollout for the original Donda album — with the date “2/22/22.” The palindromic nature of the release is about par for the course for Ye, who I’m honestly surprised didn’t already fall heavily into numerology like Jim Carrey in The Number 23. He also says the album’s executive produced by Future.
Of course, with Kanye, release dates are more like guidelines than actual rules — shout out to The Pirate’s Code. The original Donda blew through three different release dates over the course of the year and a half in which Ye continued to tease it. This was after the chaotic release schedules of his 2018 G.O.O.D Music projects with Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Teyana Taylor, and Nas, which all arrived well after their promised release dates. So, while 2/22/22 makes for a cool-sounding release date, knowing Kanye’s penchant for tinkering, it’s probably best not to get your hopes up. Oddly enough, that’s also the release date for Kanye’s Yeezy collaboration with LA streetwear brand Skid Row Fashion Show, so perhaps he’s timing all these things together in the hopes of increasing exposure all around.
As for what the album will include… well… that’s anyone’s guess. He first teased the album with a text thread from Moneybagg Yo, so the Memphis rapper could feature on the project, and Ye did release the Pete Davidson-threatening “Eazy” this month, but that doesn’t mean either will actually appear on the album. The only thing that remains for sure is Kanye’s appetite for drama, and with this announcement, the latest round of rollout theatre can truly begin.