Kanye West continues to make waves as the rapper was the most streamed artist on Spotify this past weekend, despite his new album’s unavailability on the platform. The news was revealed by Chart Data and comes on the heels of his latest studio album, Donda 2, which Ye dropped exclusively on his own streaming service Stem Player on Feb. 22.
Although his latest release is absent on digital streaming platforms, the rise in streams of Kanye’s music is likely connected to the release of the Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy. The docuseries, which dropped its second installment last Wednesday, has been gaining rave reviews and has prompted fans to revisit his discography.
Kanye West is the #1 most streamed artist on Spotify two days in a row‼️? pic.twitter.com/5CqXyB49NU
— RapTV (@raptvcom) February 27, 2022
West previously gave his reasoning behind foregoing a traditional release for Donda 2, deeming it as his latest step in safeguarding himself from corporate overlords in the music industry.
“Donda 2 will only be available on my own platform, the Stem Player,” the rapper wrote on Instagram. “Not on Apple Amazon Spotify or YouTube. Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes. It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own.”
Additional tracks on Donda 2 were uploaded to Stem Player on Feb. 24, including “True Love,” “Get Lost,” “Louis Bags,” and “First Time In a Long Time.”
Kanye West’s Stem Player website has added the remaining Donda 2 songs for download ?? pic.twitter.com/sN0HQ15wfe
— STRAPPED! | Hip-Hop/Rap News (@STRAPPEDUS) February 25, 2022