Kanye West has finally dropped new album Donda – and fans are beside themselves

It’s been a long wait, but Kanye West has finally dropped Donda.

West, known as a perfectionist, has spent weeks putting the finishing touches on the much-delayed album, his 10th studio record which is named after his late mother.

Last week, the rapper, 44, held a listening party in his hometown of Chicago – the third such promotional session he had held for the album.

But, despite the first two listening events coming and going without Donda’s arrival, the new album was dropped on Apple Music and Spotify three days later, on Sunday.

And it’s safe to say fans are very excited:

The news was so important that some felt they had to alert US president Joe Biden:

Once they’ve had a chance to listen, fans on Twitter appeared to be almost unanimously impressed with the album:

Others were particularly pleased with line which references football great Lionel Messi, who is making his debut for PSG today. Some speculated that the rapper is trying to weigh in to the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) debate – when Messi and rival Cristiano Ronaldo are pitted against one another for the title.

The album features collaborators including Jay-Z, The Weeknd, Lil Baby, Playboi Carti, Kid Cudi and the late rapper Pop Smoke.

But while West has released Donda – which has 27 different tracks – to streaming services, it might not still be the finished product. The rapper is known for reediting and tinkering his work once it’s been released, as seen with The Life of Pablo in 2016.

Donda has suffered multiple delays after being initially promised a year ago.

West had said it would arrive in July, then spent time living at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, while working on completing the record.

A second event was also held in Atlanta, with no sign of a release.

At his latest listening party, West was accompanied by two musicians who have recently been engulfed in controversy – shock rocker Marilyn Manson, who has denied multiple allegations of sexual assault, and rapper DaBaby, who was criticised for homophobic comments made at a music festival.

West replaced a Jay-Z verse on “Jail” with a new verse by DaBaby; however, the current streaming version of Donda reinstates Jay-Z’s appearance.

It also featured a cameo from Kim Kardashian West, who attended with their four children. She appeared in a Balenciaga wedding gown during No Child Left Behind, the final song of the night. Kardashian West filed for divorce in February after almost seven years of marriage.

Donda West was an English professor at Chicago State University who died in 2007 aged 58 following complications from cosmetic surgery.

Her death had a devastating impact on West, who as well as his latest album also named a creative content company after her. Samples of his mother’s speech feature on the record.

Since West last released an album, 2019’s gospel-inspired Jesus Is King, the Grammy-winning star has kept busy.

He launched a doomed bid to become US president, was officially classed as a billionaire by Forbes magazine thanks to his Yeezy fashion brand and this week petitioned a court in Los Angeles to legally change his name to Ye.