Kanye West Says His Record Label Released Donda Album Without His Approval

There appears to be more controversy surrounding Kanye West's just-released album, Donda.

On Sunday (Aug. 29), just hours after ’Ye’s 10th album arrived on streaming platforms, Kanye jumped on his Instagram page and posted a message claiming his distributor Universal Music Group released his project without his permission.

“UNIVERSAL PUT MY ALBUM OUT WITHOUT MY APPROVAL AND THEY BLOCKED JAIL 2 FROM BEING ON THE ALBUM,” ’Ye wrote in all caps.

Kanye is signed to Def Jam Recordings, which is owned by Universal Music Group. In the message, the Chicago MC is referring to “Jail, Pt. 2,” a track featuring DaBaby, Francis and the Lights and Marilyn Manson. The song was initially removed from Donda when it hit DSPs on Sunday morning. Kanye then shared on his IG page images of text messages revealing why the 2019 XXL Freshman was not featured on the project.

In a series of texts, it appears that DaBaby’s team didn't want to clear his verse for the song “Jail, Pt. 2,” which momentarily held up the release of the project.

"On another Note, DaBaby manager isn’t clearing 'Jail'... So we won’t be able to Upload unless we take him off...What’s ur thoughts,” reads one text.

“Why he won’t clear jail,” reads another text apparently from Kanye.

“I don’t know. And neither is answering there[sic] phone,” reads another text.

“I’m not taking my brother off...He was the only person who said he would vote for me in public,” reads another text apparently from Kanye.

Arnold Taylor, the founder of South Coast Music Group—the record label DaBaby is signed to in partnership with Interscope Records—posted a screenshot on Instagram of the text messages Kanye West shared detailing why DaBaby initially wasn't on the Donda LP. Taylor calls the information ’Ye received "cap."

"This is CAP, I woke up this morning to this social media bullshit. I never got a call or email from @kanyewest @__bu @johnmonopoly I just received it today and Cleared it in 2 seconds. Why wouldn’t I want a hit song out when #SCMG is all about the growth and culture of hip hop and my artist!!! To all of the media blogs and outlets don’t believe everything you see in a post, thank you!!! #SCMGShit," Taylor posted on Instagram.

Hours later, the song was added to the Donda album on all streaming platforms.

As for Kanye being upset that Donda is now available to the public, there’s nothing much he can do. The Chicago rapper-producer's album is currently a trending topic on Twitter and there’s plenty of chatter on social media about the LP.