Donda: With Child


Donda: With Child is the upcoming tenth studio album by American rapper, and record producer Kanye West, originally scheduled for release on July 24, 2020, but unreleased on that date.

Background

September 2018-October 2019: ''Jesus is King''

In September 2018, Kanye West announced he would release his ninth studio album, titled . He later went to form his gospel group, the Sunday Service Choir, in January 2019. This sparked a transformation where West described himself to be "radically saved." West enlisted a personal pastor for weekly Bible studies to further his journey into religion. In August 2019, West's ninth studio album was re-announced as Jesus Is King. In September 2019, West stated that he was no longer making secular music and that Jesus Is King would have no explicit lyrics. Jesus Is King was ultimately released on October 25, 2019; and the companion gospel album Jesus Is Born was released on Christmas Day. On November 18, 2019, West announced on Twitter that he was working with Dr. Dre on a project titled Jesus Is King Part II. The announcement arrived just three weeks after Jesus Is King was released.

May-July 2020: ''God's Country'' and ''Donda: With Child''

Cinematographer Arthur Jafa prematurely revealed the project during an Instagram Live stream on May 25, 2020, in talk with fashion designer Michèle Lamy. During the stream, Jafa indicated that he was working on video-related material with West for a single from a "forthcoming album" titled God's Country. On June 26, 2020, following the announcement of a collaboration between West's fashion company Yeezy and clothing retailer Gap, West launched the #WESTDAYEVER promotional campaign on Twitter to announce different projects across June 26. One of the projects was revealed to be a music video for "Wash Us in the Blood", directed by Jafa. The video was released four days later, following a teaser on Twitter in which West officially revealed the title of the album as God's Country. On July 18, he announced the title had been changed to Donda and that the album would be released on July 24, but it was not released on that date. The album is named after West's late mother, Donda West, and shares its name with his former creative content company. On July 25, West released a tweet which revealed the cover of the upcoming album.

Recording

In March 2020, West recorded new music in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico before returning to Wyoming with his family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That same month, American rapper Pusha T stated in a Discord interview that he had been recording with West recently. Pusha T was planning to meet with West on March 16, 2020, to finish up a project, but cited "flights slowing down" as the reason for a delay.