These days, Kanye West is liable to do or say any damn thing. So when he announced he’d be dropping a new album just three months after the release of his seven-song Ye LP, it was a surprise, but, comparatively speaking, a mild development.

The album was initially supposed to drop on Sept. 29, the night Yeezy performed three songs on the season 44 premiere of Saturday Night Live. The Chicago recording artist was even posting pictures of billboards promoting the album on Twitter leading up to the date. But after his black-out moment on the long-running sketch comedy show, where he accused people of bullying him for supporting No. 45 and wearing MAGA hats that look like they were broken in by being stepped on, there was a change of plans.

In the time since then, Kanye has traveled to Uganda to rub shoulders with foreign dignitaries, pass out Yeezy sneakers to kids and mastermind the new Jurassic Park. Oh, and he’s been presumably putting the finishing touches on Yandhi, on which confirmed details have been scarce. The album is now slated to drop on Black Friday (Nov. 23), but knowing Yeezy he might just call another audible before then.

Kanye’s recent antics have definitely kept him in the headlines, but will they cause people to care more or care less about the new project? Time will tell. For now, XXL fishes up all there is to know about Kanye West's next piece of work.

  • The Singles

  • The Album Art

    Almost two weeks after debuting "I Love It," Kanye posted an album cover on Twitter. Akin to the minimalist Yeezus design, the photo led many people to believe West would be dropping a sequel to his polarizing sixth LP.

    Getting Out Our Dreams II
    Getting Out Our Dreams II
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  • The Official Announcement

    On Sept. 17, Kanye confirmed the new album, title and release date via Twitter. Yandhi is slated to drop on Sep. 29, the same date West is scheduled to perform on the the 44th season premiere of Saturday Night Live.

  • The African Delay

    Following his controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live, where ranted about his love for President Trump and being bullied for said support, Kanye delayed the album in order to travel to Africa to record.

    “Now the alien 'Ye is fully back in mode, off medication, working out, breathing as much fresh air as possible, thinking, doing, being his self," West said during an interview with TMZ's Harvey Levin. "And when I say I’m being myself I don’t mean that I’m being Donald Trump, I’m being me, and I’m punk. I can where whatever I want ‘cause I’m a god.”

    The new date was set for Nov. 23.

    @bankulli via Instagram
    @bankulli via Instagram
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  • The Tracklist

    In September, a since-deleted tweet from Universal Music Group Publishing appeared to reveal the number of songs on the Yandhi tracklist.

    "UMPG songwriter, @AntClemons comes in (fire emoji) putting work in 7 of 8 tracks on #KanyeWest’s new album #Yandhi," the tweet read, along with a photo of the contributing singer.

    UMPG via Twitter
    UMPG via Twitter
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  • The Recording Process

    Some of the Yandhi album seems to have been recorded in Chicago, where 'Ye has been spending more time recently. Kanye also traveled to Uganda to catch some vibes from the Mother Land. While there, he built an outdoor studio to work on new music and appears to have worked with some local artists.

  • The Vibe

    West divulged some details about the album to TMZ's Harvey Levin. "The album is so good," he said. "I’m incorporating sounds you’ve never heard before and pushing concepts that people don’t talk about. We have concepts about body shaming, and women being looked down upon because of how many people they’ve slept with."

    Ron Sachs, Getty Images
    Ron Sachs, Getty Images
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  • The Features

    Kanye has confirmed Ty Dolla $ign will be on the album. 6ix9ine and XXXTentacion are also said to be on unfinished versions of the LP 'Ye has played for a select few. Quavo has revealed Migos recorded a song for the new record.

    Lil Pump will surely make the cut on "I Love It" as well as contributions from Ant Clemons and the Teyana Taylor assist.

    Nicki Minaj will also make an appearance on a song on the topic of body shaming. "This concept is a 'Ye concept but I'ma say it to y'all right now," Kanye said about the Minaj collab. "I'm taking two stigmas at once. I love taking stigmas and flipping them to positive. Negative energy to a positive."

     

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