Kanye West kept friends and fans anxiously awaiting his arrival to his own album listening party Thursday evening in Atlanta.
Kanye is releasing Donda, his tenth studio album, tomorrow (July 23) @ 12AM ET/9PM PT. To celebrate its debut, Yeezy planned an album listening party at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Thursday, July 23 at 8 p.m., to which he showed up two hours late and kept friends and fans awaiting the album release.
West appeared on the field in a red puffer coat and red pants. He wore a black balaclava-style net over his entire head and face and said absolutely nothing as the album blasted through the speaker for 48 minutes straight.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed West’s movement from the night, noting that, “For much of the night, Mr. West remained relatively still atop a white tarp in the venue, though he also kneeled at times and danced at others.” They added that, “Overall, Mr. West’s minimalist presentation conveyed a sense of isolation and melancholy.”
He also used smoke machines at the event, making it very hard for the audience to see him clearly, or at all. This added to the dark and shadowy feeling at the show.
(July 21, 2021 – Source: Getty Images North America)
Kanye’s album, which has been in the works for over a year, is named after his late mother, Donda West, who died in 2007 from complications following a cosmetic surgery. Kanye was very close with his mother, and also named his creative content company, DONDA, after her.
It was a very emotional show, as West reportedly fell to his knees while the track “Love Unconditionally” played. The lyrics said, “I’m losing my family” a few times, which was subtle but not so subtle acknowledgment towards his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian West, who was in attendance with their four children and ex-sister-in-law Khloe Kardashian. As the album finished playing, West walked off stage calmly as the audience went wild with cheers.
Check out the video from album listening party below and let us know what you think of the new music in the comments below, or send us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0lynfduw5k
