Kanye West and his team reveals the first official single off Donda.
It has been a week since the release of Kanye West’s latest project, Donda, although it feels like much longer considering the elaborate and drawn-out way in which the album finally made its way onto streaming services. Going against tradition once again, Yeezy waited until after the album’s release to announce its first single. According to Hip-Hop-N-More, “Hurricane” ft. Lil Baby and The Weeknd will make its way into radio rotation next week, on September 13th. It seems Kanye let the fans choose the project’s first single, considering that “Hurricane” is the most streamed track of Donda so far.
While “Hurricane” debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 100, the radio plays are anticipated to help increase the song’s popularity, possibly securing another No. 1 hit single for all three artists on the track. A total of 23 songs from Donda landed on the Billboard Hot 100, with two making their way into the top ten. Remarkably, only one other artist has charted at least 23 songs on the Top 100 in one week, and that artist is currently being talked about as Yeezy’s main competition—Drake.
Drizzy dropped Certified Lover Boy this week, beating Kanye’s first-day debut numbers but tapering off on his second day. This data is leading some to predict that Donda may ultimately earn more streams considering Kanye chose to weaken his debut by giving everyone a sneak peek through multiple listening parties over the course of three weeks.
While Kanye continues to wield the power of his unpredictability and eccentricities to stoke interest and vague hope among fans old and new, hip hop enthusiasts and critics alike seem to agree that CLB is the stronger of the two projects. Whichever album you prefer, there is no denying that some healthy rivalry is good for the creative process. Both Drake and Kanye have left immeasurable marks on the rap game, and both have loyal fanbases that will continue to stream everything they release for the rest of their careers.
