Ye drops Donda 2 track list and says you can only listen by paying $200
Los Angeles, California – Kanye "Ye" West released the track list for his upcoming album Donda 2, but fans will only be able to hear it exclusively on his Stem Player platform.
Kanye shared a bunch of new info on his Instagram for all of us hyped about his next album, Donda 2, and it's as ridiculous as you could expect it to be coming from Ye.
"Donda 2 will only be available on my own platform, the Stem Player. Not on Apple Amazon Spotify or YouTube," the rapper shared in a post late Thursday night.
"Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes. It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own. Go to stemplayer.com now to order."
While it's admirable that someone so influential would use his platform to make such a bold move in defiance of a money hungry, bloodsucking music industry, it's strange that Ye expects people to pay $200 for the Stem Player.
The device allows users to customize their listening experience by splitting songs into tracks, or "stems." The volume of each stem can be adjusted, allowing users to mute and solo each one. It seems like the concept is to give listeners the feeling of being a producer, and Ye is going all in on the project.
Ye also put a post up early Friday morning revealing a handwritten list of what could be the finalized 22 track song list for Donda 2. The album is set to be released on Tuesday, when Ye will also give a performance at Loandepot Park in Miami the same day.
Kanye's Insta is now a blanket ad for Donda 2 and his doc
After wiping his Instagram clean earlier this week – deleting recent tirades about his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her new boo Pete Davidson that he later "took accountability for" – nine new posts have gone up within the last 24 hours, all touting Ye's stem player release and new Netflix doc.
The rapper included a lengthy post, writing, "I feel that same feeling like when I first moved to New York to make it in Music. I ain’t know what was gonna happen but I knew had to move. After 10 albums after being under 10 contracts. I turned down a hundred million dollar Apple deal. No one can pay me to be disrespected. We set our own price for our art. Tech companies made music practically free so if you don’t do merch sneakers and tours you don’t eat. Jay Z made Tidal and fake media attacked him. Well in the words of my big brother. Come and get me"
Back in 2016, Ye expressed a similar sentiment with his album The Life of Pablo, which he originally released exclusively on Tidal. Ye insisted that he would, "never never never" make it available anywhere else, but six weeks after it dropped, it arrived on all platforms.
Ye wants fans to "be a part of the revolution" that is the Stem Player, but is it fair that the revolution has such a hefty price tag?
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO/MediaPunch & Screenshot/stemplayer.com