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Kanye West debuts new 'Donda' album as Yeezy Gap collection drops new item

Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal joins Akiko Fujita and Zack Guzman to break down what to expect from Kanye West’s new 10th studio album ‘Donda,’ his launch of the Yeezy brand with Gap, as well as his contested net worth.

Video Transcript

AKIKO FUJITA: It is the day all Kanye West fans, including myself, have been waiting for. The artist out with his highly anticipated 10th studio album. It's supposed to be out today, but Allie Canal here to explain to us. Allie, we were just trying to look this up. It's not on Spotify. He had a big event yesterday, live streaming his album. But is there a bit of a delay here on the release?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yeah, it seems like there is. Kanye West essentially ghosted his fans, had this big launch party yesterday, as you mentioned, in Atlanta. It's sold out, 40,000 fans at Mercedes Benz Stadium. And it was live streamed on Apple Music. I assumed, OK, it must be on Apple Music right now. But you're right. We just checked during the break. It's not on Apple Music. It's not on Spotify. So fans are going to have to wait till this album drops on streaming.

But I mean, if you're a fan of Kanye West-- and Akiko, I do not know you were such a Kanye West fan. That is good. I'm going to put that in the arsenal, in the back pocket there. But, you know, if you're a fan of him, you're excited about this. He's been a little bit quiet on the music front. His last album, "Jesus is King," did go on to win the Grammys in 2021 for Best Contemporary Christian album.

But "Donda" has a lot of celebrity cameos. We have a Jay-Z cameo. But, you know, they've been rumored to be in a feud since 2014. So the fact that he appeared on this album is making the waves on social media. And this is a big year for Kanye West 2021. We have a new album. We also finally have the launch of his Yeezy collaboration with the Gap. Zack, I know you are not a fan of that bright blue puffer jacket, but a lot of people were. It completely sold out, 200 bucks a pop in the pre-sale.

They also announced their second item in the collection. It's going to be a black puffer jacket with shipping expected for winter of 2021. But the Yeezy brand is something that Kanye has continued to expand on. In 2019, it was valued at $3 billion. Obviously, with this Gap partnership, the valuation just seems to be infinite at this point. A recent Wells Fargo note said that that collaboration could drive 1 billion sales for the Gap, which would obviously be great for them, as they're really looking to rebrand their image. They've been in a bit of an identity crisis.

But Kanye West seems to be saving them once again. And when it comes to the net worth of Kanye, that's something that's been hotly contested. Bloomberg says he's worth over $6 billion, whereas Forbes said he's right around $1.8 billion. But I mean, guys, what are we arguing about? Billions of dollars. The guy is making a lot of money, establishing himself in music, but also outside in fashion. And it looks like Kanye's empire is just going to keep churning as it comes. And knowing him, he always has something cooked up a sleeve.

ZACK GUZMAN: Well, maybe it will keep growing, Allie, if we see the album drop. A lot of people angry about not seeing it thus far. I think he was rocking a red version of the Gap puffer coat. I don't know if I like that one better or not, when he was doing the live listening party last night. I think it looks just the same, just as bad as the one in blue.

But when we talk about the fact that he did wait-- I mean, he didn't say anything. Let's just keep-- I don't think I would have ever seen something like this. And maybe that speaks to Kanye's star power. He sold out an arena to not say anything. And he showed up almost an hour late after it was supposed to start. So I mean, I don't know. I don't know if there's another artist out there that you think could possibly even come close to doing something like that.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: It's funny, too. I saw pictures that people took of him sleeping at his own event. He just doesn't seem to care. And yet the fans give him this pass over and over again. I mean, this album was supposed to drop in 2020. Remember, it was supposed to be released right around the same time as Taylor Swift's "Folklore," which was ironic for several reasons because they have that ongoing feud going on. But then it kept getting delayed, pushed back, pushed back. And now you can't find the music on streaming. So, you know, you're right. I'm not sure if many other artists could do this.

But again, I think because Kanye has been a little bit quiet on the music scene because he has all these celebrity cameos on the album, I think people are willing to wait a little bit. But you can't just have this big event and then ghost everyone. That just-- that doesn't fly. No one likes to be ghosted. I don't think the fans will either. So hopefully we get something this weekend. I mean, I want to bump to Kanye on Saturday night. Like, what are we going to do if we can't listen to it?

ZACK GUZMAN: You can't rush greatness, Allie. That's what he'd say, I suppose, here. But, you know, we're going to let him finish, right? It's only fair. He let T Swift finish. We'll let him finish as well.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Oh, god.

ZACK GUZMAN: And we'll see what happens. Allie Canal bringing us the latest there on "Fame and Fortune." Appreciate that.

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