He may have a reputation for rescheduling release dates and adjusting track lists and features up until the very last second, but despite this, Kanye West also has an incredibly loyal group of listeners. It remains unclear whether the people who have heard DONDA so far were listening as fans or critics; regardless, Chart Data on Twitter has reported that the album received nearly 100 million first day streams.
According to the tweet, the highly anticipated release has also earned itself the title of the second biggest Spotify album debut of all time, blowing the record set by Taylor Swift’s Folklore out of the water, and trailing behind Drake’s 2018 release, Scorpion.
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West didn’t hesitate to bring in shock value on his latest project, hosting several live stream events prior to the actual release. The last, and perhaps most controversial, included appearances from alleged abuser and shock rocker, Marilyn Manson, and DaBaby, who has been in hot water for his recent homophobic rant.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, the “Flashing Lights” rapper said that he refused to pull DaBaby’s verse despite having clearance issues because the North Carolina native publicly pledged to vote for West during his presidential campaign.
When DONDA initially dropped on Sunday, August 29th, “Jail pt 2”, which featured DaBaby was unavailable for streaming. The song has since been added to the album’s lengthy 27-song track list. With Drake’s Certified Lover Boy set to drop this Friday, September 3rd, we’ll have to wait and see if West is able to hold onto his new title.
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