On Thursday evening (July 22), Kanye West’s live listening event for his forthcoming 10th studio album, Donda, was the talk of social media, with a large segment of rap fans tuning in to watch the festivities, which were streamed via Apple Music. While the event, which took place at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, had numerous highlights, the biggest came when Kanye performed a song that included a surprise guest spot from Jay-Z, sending the crowd—and the music world as a whole—into a frenzy.
Full Hov verse. Thx @itsrikip pic.twitter.com/aRLvUpKjwN
— Elliott Wilson (@ElliottWilson) July 23, 2021
Appearing at the end of a song performed by Ye, Hov used his feature to address the elephant in the room that is the pair’s strained relationship, which has been well-documented over the years. According to the verse, one underlying cause for their issues was Kanye’s support of Donald Trump and sporting a “Make America Great Again” hat: “I told him to stop all that red cap, we going home,” Jay raps, before adding, “This might be the return of the Throne / Hova and Yeezus, like Moses and Jesus,” a reference to their run as one of hip-hop’s most exciting duos.
The reunion marks Kanye and Jay’s first collaboration since the original version of Drake’s 2016 single, “Pop Style,” which the pair were ultimately taken off of the album version. According to longtime Jay-Z collaborator Young Guru, Hov’s verse was recorded just hours before it was unveiled for the world to hear.
HOV did the verse today!!!! At 4pm
— Young Guru (@Young_Guru) July 23, 2021
With the dynamic duo back on good terms, and Hov’s mention of “return of the Throne,” this track could be the first domino to fall in the lead-up to a sequel of the pair’s classic 2011 joint album, Watch the Throne. However, the first order of business is the release of Donda, which has yet to arrive on DSPs as scheduled. According to reports, the record includes guest appearances from Pop Smoke, Travis Scott, Pusha T, Baby Keem, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, and more.