Music

Kanye West almost — almost — releases long-awaited 10th album Donda

The record is at least available to pre-order.

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Published on August 6, 2021 11:57AM EDT

A stage featuring a twin-sized mattress with rumpled bedding greeted Kanye West fans who attended his 10th studio album listening party on Thursday.

West himself didn't make an appearance for close to 90 minutes after the announced start of the Apple Music livestream of Donda, the record named after his late mother, but once he took the stage at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the show began.

"DONDA By Kanye West" Listening Event — Kanye West. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Music Group

West appeared in a tight-fitting mask that covered his head and a military-style vest with "DONDA" printed on the front and back, moving around the stage as the album soundtracked his antics. He did pushups, slumped on the bed, donned a spiky jacket, and wrapped himself in a comforter, all while black-clad figures formed rings around the circular stage.

In the hours before his appearance, a live stream showed him "finishing" the album inside the stadium, where he's been holed up for nearly two weeks. West announced that he was working on the record in 2020, and he'd planned a release date of July 23 before moving it back to Aug. 6.

However, the album is still only available for pre-order on Apple Music with a release date of Aug. 7. The link features a simple black box instead of album art, but it seems to contain 24 unnamed tracks.

Donda made its public premiere on July 22 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and boasted guest verses from a starry list of rappers, including Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, and, somewhat shockingly, Jay-Z. It is West's first album since 2019's Jesus Is King, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Album.

West's mother died in 2007 at the age of 58. Her cause of death was heart disease, and she suffered "multiple post-operative factors" following plastic surgery, an L.A. coroner told PEOPLE at the time. An autopsy was unable to determine the role the factors played in her death.

In 2020, West released a song titled "Donda," about his late mother, that included the lyrics, "Mama, I need you to tuck me in. I've made some mistakes and they rubbed it in."

Representatives for West didn't immediately respond to EW's requests for comment.

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