“This might be the return of the throne”
The relationship between Kanye West and Jay-Z has been feisty for the past few years but for DONDA, Kanye West’s latest album, the two MCs put their past together as they teamed up to make a track.
Music fans experienced the shocker as Kanye West premiered DONDA, his 10th studio album at a listening event at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night. The event was broadcast through the Apple Music live stream.
Following collaborations with Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Pusha T, Travis Scott, Roddy Ricch, and more, Kanye played the last song that amazed listeners and viewers.
On the track, the MCs reflect on their history of collaboration and even hint at the possibility of Watch the Throne 2.
JAY-Z’s voice echoed through the speakers for the final track. “Donda, I’m wit your baby when I touch back road,” he raps. “Told him stop all that red cap, we goin’ home / Cannot be with all of these sins casting stones / This might be the return of The Throne / Hova and Yeezy like Moses and Jesus.”
Elsewhere on DONDA, Lil Durk referenced Kanye and JAY-Z’s relationship on his verse: “Ye and JAY still brothers / They both billionaires.”
It appears getting the two on the DONDA project was not a smooth ride as audio engineer Young Guru revealed that JAY-Z only completed his verse at 4 p.m. on Thursday, just hours before the project’s release time.
The song marks Ye and JAY’s first collaboration since Drake’s “Pop Style” in 2016. The longtime friends and collaborators have had an estranged relationship for years, but briefly reunited at Diddy’s 50th birthday in December 2019. Kanye admitted that he felt “hurt” when JAY and Beyoncé didn’t show up to his and Kim Kardashian’s wedding in 2014 and called out the superstar couple on stage during his “Saint Pablo Tour” in 2016.
