Kanye West dropped his long-awaited album Donda 2 on major streaming platforms Wednesday (April 30), only to have it yanked hours after a payment dispute with producers.
West had initially released the project exclusively through his Stem Player device in 2022.
But this week, the album briefly surfaced on Spotify and YouTube Music before being taken down after legal threats from Free Maiden, the manager of two producers who worked on the album.
During an chat with AllHipHop, Free Maiden gave more details about the dispute with West.
“You chose to run, duck, hide, and continuously steal our s###!” Free Maiden snapped said. “Why you think you have the right to continue to steal from us and monetize the work? It’s very slum landlordish. Get on the phone like a man.”
Free Maiden represents Jahmal “Boogz Da Beast” Gwin and Brian “AllDay” Miller, who produced eight of the album’s 18 songs.
“This man has been stealing for years, but I always protected him,” Free Maiden told AllHipHop. “I’ve saved Kanye nine figures in attempted lawsuits alone in the past. Gloves off now.”
The brief appearance of Donda 2 on streaming marked the first time the album had been widely available outside of West’s platform. The project had long been considered “lost” by listeners due to its limited release and lack of official distribution.
The latest dispute adds to a turbulent stretch for West, who was banned from Twitch just seven minutes into his debut stream last week.
As of Wednesday evening, Donda 2 remained unavailable on major streaming services, but West hinted that he wanted to come to an amicable resolution.
“Really wanna work with Brian and Boogz again,” he tweeted. “Really wanna work this out.”
Really wanna work with Brian and Boogz again
Really wanna work this out
— ye (@kanyewest) April 30, 2025
Related
