Kanye West has revealed that the only way to listen to his forthcoming album ‘Donda 2’ will be via his own Stem Player, a device that was first released in conjunction with ‘Donda’ last year that allowed users to remix the album’s songs using stems of vocals, drums, bass, samples and more.
In an Instagram post shared today (February 18), West shared footage of an unreleased song playing off the device. In the caption, the rapper said that ‘Donda 2’ would be available exclusively through the platform, saying it would not appear on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or YouTube.
“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,” he wrote, directing fans to an order page for the Stem Player.
It’s not the first time Ye has claimed that one of his albums would be released exclusively through a certain platform. Back in 2016, ‘The Life Of Pablo’ was released solely to Tidal, with West claiming the album would remain a permanent exclusive to the streaming platform.
Less than two months later, it was released on other platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, prompting a lawsuit soon after, accusing West and Tidal’s Jay-Z of false advertising. The lawsuit was later settled, with its terms undisclosed.
Earlier this month, West announced details of a ‘Donda 2’ event that is set to take place at Miami’s LoanDepot Park on February 22, the same day the album is released.
West’s latest announcement comes after the rapper targeted several of his peers on social media in recent days. Last week, he said longtime friend and collaborator Kid Cudi would not be appearing on ‘Donda 2’ due to the latter’s friendship with Pete Davidson, West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s current partner.
This month also saw West appear on ‘City Of Gods’, a song by Fivio Foreign that also featured guest vocals from Alicia Keys.
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