Hump Day has a specific meaning this week because we have to get over the hump to finally make it to Thursday—which will likely focus a lot on Kanye West. I’m already tired!
In case you missed it, it was announced on Tuesday that ‘Ye would be holding a public listening party at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for his upcoming album titled Donda. No, it’s not happening months or even weeks from now—it’s happening Thursday. This Thursday. Shoutout to all of the music/hip-hop publications who don’t already have staff writers in Atlanta scrambling to secure on-the-ground coverage thanks to this very-last-minute concert announcement, by the way!
According to Page Six, Kanye will be donating thousands of tickets for the Donda listening party to HBCUs. The publication specifically reports the 44-year-old rapper “has donated 5,000 tickets to faculty, staff and students of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College, Morris Brown College and ITC.”
No word yet on whether any of the proceeds from this highly (and quickly) publicized event will go toward the ongoing class action lawsuit in which his Sunday Service choir claimed he owes them over $30 million in damages, citing mistreatment and unpaid wages.
In true Kanye dramatics, the promotion for the upcoming event amped up on Thursday evening. While there’s still no current activity on Twitter at the time of this blog’s posting, ‘Ye dropped two different pieces of content via his Instagram page, after being absent on the platform for over two years.
First, he posted a series of pictures donning that bizarre mask he wore at the previous private listening party, a bunch of gold chains with his children’s names, a Holy Bible and other outfit pieces—one of which fans noticed was a sock with a Nike swoosh. Why is that probably relevant? As one fan speculated, this may be a petty swipe (or swoosh) at his ex Kim Kardashian (the two are currently going through divorce proceedings) since he previously purchased Adidas stock for her as a Christmas gift.
“Kanye actually played the song for Kim personally before the listening party,” a source apparently told Page Six. “It’s emotional and personal. Not negative at all.”
Then, ‘Ye dropped a surprise Beats By Dre commercial starring Sha’Carri Richardson, who you may know as “That Girl,” a superior track and field star who was recently barred from competing in the Tokyo Olympics due to failing a drug test. The one-minute spot, which serves as a tribute to her excellence and a promo for the Beats Studio Buds, featured one of the tracks from the upcoming Donda project titled, “No Child Left Behind.”
As we inch closer and closer to Thursday, I wonder...what else does Kanye have up his sensationalized sleeve? Anything can happen between now and then because as always...he gets the people goin’.
Donda, ‘Ye’s tenth solo studio album, drops on July 23.