Kanye West claims 'Donda' was released without his approval

The rapper's long-awaited 10th album was made available on streaming sites on Sunday

Kanye West is now claiming that Universal released 'Donda' without his approval. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National

What’s a Kanye West album release without the drama?

After several date changes and delays, the rapper’s long-awaited 10th album Donda finally appeared on streaming services on Sunday, much to the delight of his fans.

But West, who recently filed court papers to change his name to just Ye, is now claiming Donda was released without his blessings.

“Universal put my album out without my approval and they blocked Jail 2 from being on the album,” he posted on Instagram hours after the album's release.

Jail pt 2, which features rocker Marilyn Manson and rapper DaBaby, was initially not included in the track list on Donda's release, but is now available along with 26 other songs in the album.

It wasn’t clear why the song was missing in the first place.

In since-deleted posts on Instagram, West had earlier claimed that DaBaby’s management was holding up the release.

West posted a screenshot of text messages he exchanged with his manager. “I’m not taking my brother off,” he says in the message.

“He was the only person who said he would vote for me in public,” West said, referring to his failed US presidential bid in 2020.

The inclusion of Manson and DaBaby, who both appeared on stage at the album’s listening party in Chicago on Thursday, was also widely criticised.

Manson is facing several charges of rape and sexual assault, while DaBaby was recently dropped from a number of shows after his homophobic comments at a Miami music festival.

Donda, named after West’s mother Donda West who died in 2007, was initially supposed to release in July. That date was changed many times before finally being made available on streaming sites on Sunday.

Besides Manson and DaBaby, the 27-track album which is 108 minutes long features a raft of celebrity cameos including The Weeknd, Lil Baby, Kid Cudi, Chris Brown, Pop Smoke, Ty Dolla Sign, Travis Scott and Lil Yachty. Former mentor Jay-Z, with whom West released the acclaimed 2011 album Watch the Throne, also makes an appearance on the track Jail.