Kanye West, arguably the world’s most influential rapper, record producer, and fashion designer left no one suprised as his most recent album release, titled Donda, was riddled with controversy and misinformation. His on and off beef with rival artist Drake has escalated to a new high with competing album releases; Drake has been hinting at the release of his new album Certified Lover Boy. The world has awaited the release of the two albums that are expected to shatter the top charts and influence the genre of hip hop for years to come. Kanye repeatedly confirmed and canceled the release of Donda for over a month while hosting two album listening parties before its release on the morning August 29th. Fans speculate that these date changes may have been the result of conflict with Drake’s upcoming album Certified Lover Boy. This theory was further supported by Kanye’s recent claim that Universal released the album without his permission. Fans speculate that Universal did not want Kanye to release his album at the same time as Drake due to a loss of first week sales that would come with competing album releases. Regardless, Donda is out now and is unlikely to be changed.

The album’s futuristic production with the combination of gospel and hip hop is supported by features from some of the most popular hip hop artists. But of course, Kanye has never been known to do anything without controversy. During one listening party, Kanye welcomed artists Dababy and Marilyn Manson on stage to be featured on his leading song, Jail. Dababy has recently been “cancelled” following his homophobic comments at popular music festival, Rolling Loud. More controversial, was Marilyn’s Manson’s appearance as the 52 year old artist has been accused of sexual assault by over a dozen women. This collaboration has alienated many fans as well as Kanye’s estranged wife Kim Kardashian who was unaware that Manson would be present at the listening party. Kanye has faced many of his own accusations and criticism over the media. He possibly involved the two artists as a stand against cancel culture which some criticize as toxic and unfair. The irony of the situation is that Kanye chose to collaborate with these artists rather than others who have been vocal about their rejection from the album.

Artists Chris Brown and Soulja Boy have taken to twitter to diss Kanye over the claim that the rapper reached out to them about a verse, only to release the album without including them in the album. In a tweet aimed at Kanye, Soulja Boy says, ‘I hate working with this dude. He needs help seriously.’ The one sided feud seemed to escalate as Soulja Boy challenged him to a boxing match over twitter; celebrity boxing has become popular due to the ridiculous payout and publicity for those who agree to fight.

Kanye was hit with even more slander twitter in an unexpected twist. Lil Uzi Vert tweeted, “Kanye a fake pastor,” referencing the rapper’s shift toward gospel music in past releases. Uzi’s motives behind the diss are unknown as Uzi has not indicated a connection with either side of Drake and Kanye’s ongoing conflict.

Despite the efforts of many rappers to capture Kanye’s attention, he has only responded to Drake to continue their ten year feud. The entire story of Drake and Kanye’s beef is too long and complicated to cover, but the conflict seems to have reached a peak when Kanye sent a menacing text to Drake in a group chat.

“You will never recover” seems to have been the first direct threat either rapper has made to the other. Kanye later leaked Drake’s hometown address in Toronto, Canada through a screenshot in order to attract fans to the location. The google maps screenshot was quickly taken down but Kanye’s message was made. Drake has yet to clap back at Kanye but his album is set for release on September 3rd. Competing billboards advertising each rapper’s album have popped up in both rappers hometowns which shows that the rappers are directly competing with each other over sales. No matter which rapper sells more copies of their album, there will be no loser; Kanye has reportedly made over 12 million USD just off of his first two listening parties and both will make much more in the months after their releases.

Kanye will continue to dominate headlines around the country as he has  for over a decade, but we will likely not see another album release for years. He has historically long waits between album releases so fans must be content with Donda for now. Continue to check The Talon for more updates on Kanye West and other popular hip hop artists.