Kanye West hosted his third DONDA listening event in Chicago on Thursday night and so much went down that our heads were spinning.
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First, we're unpacking the elephant in the room. It appears that Kanye replaced JAY-Z's verse for a DaBaby feature and the question on everyone's minds is... why? At the first two listening events, Ye played a song that featured a lengthy Hov verse and had everyone gearing up for a Watch the Throne reunion.
However, at the Chicago event, fans heard a previously unreleased verse from problematic rapper, DaBaby— in lieu of JAY-Z. In light of DaBaby's recent blatantly disrespectful antics and wide-known controversy, the choice is on brand, as Ye is no stranger to controversy himself.
To continue the unexpected, Ye also brought out Marilyn Manson. According to Deadline, Manson recently turned himself in on assault charges following a string of recent sexual assault and abuse allegations from women, including ex-girlfriends and an assistant.
Other guest appearances from the event include Travis Scott, Shenseea, Westside Gunn, Don Toliver, Larry Hoover Jr. and Rooga. At one point, Ye even appeared to set himself on fire. Yet, the most notable plot twist was what appeared to be a vow renewal between himself and estranged wife, Kim Kardashian.
It was also the first time Ye removed his full face mask. Despite appearing in a wedding dress, TMZ reports that Kardashian was simply showing her support and the couple is not back together. Sources say that she was "happy to do it for Kanye and the event."
And the most important part in all of this is that DONDA is now slated for a September 5 release and is available for pre-order on iTunes. The pre-order has listed 24 tracks, all nameless except "Hurricane" featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby.
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