Kanye West releases new collaboration with Alicia Keys and Fivio Foreign
'City of Gods' arrives less than two weeks 'Donda 2', due out on February 22
By Joe Goggins
Kanye West has teamed up with Alicia Keys and Fivio Foreign for a new single – you can listen to it below.
‘City of Gods’ sees West hook up with the New York duo for a paean to the city that pairs shimmering synths with a thumping beat, along with a hook from Keys that recalls her contribution to Jay-Z’s NYC tribute ‘Empire State of Mind’. It’s unclear whether the track will feature on ‘Donda 2’, the sequel to last year’s ‘Donda’ that West has promised will arrive on February 22. The original ‘Donda’ was delayed a number of times.
Beyond the release date and West’s confirmation on Instagram that Future will serve as an executive producer, official details on ‘Donda 2’ remain scant. Producer Digital Nas has commented on the album, telling Rolling Stone that West instructed him to simplify his approach and come up with tracks that are “more monk-like”, with Nas adding that anything “not able to be played at a funeral, child birth, graduation, a wedding” would not be included.
Nas also revealed in the interview that Marilyn Manson, who has been accused of sexual abuse by a number of women, has been recording “daily” for ‘Donda 2’. A listening party for the album was held at Nobu restaurant in Malibu on Monday (February 7), suggesting that it is close to completion. Future, Drake, Travis Scott, Offset and French Montana were all reportedly in attendance.
A video posted to Instagram by the fashion designer Tracey Mills last month showed West in the studio with The Game, A$AP Rocky and Pusha T, as well as the producers Mike Dean and DJ Premier. ‘City of Gods’ is released five days ahead of the arrival on Netflix of the first of three chapters of ‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’, the career-spanning documentary on West that premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival last month.
In other West news, his headline performances at Coachella Festival in April are in doubt. He is scheduled to bring his Sunday Service show to the Indio event on April 17 and 24, but in a message posted to Instagram yesterday (February 10), he demanded an apology from fellow bill-topper Billie Eilish for what he perceived as a dig against Scott from the ‘Happier Than Ever’ star.
During a show in Atlanta last week, Eilish paused her performance in order for an audience member to receive medical attention, saying “I wait for people to be OK until I keep going.” This was seen in some quarters as a shot at Scott, who was widely criticised for continuing his headline set at Astroworld Festival in November as a deadly crush unfolded in the crowd; ten people were killed in all. The resulting controversy saw Scott dropped as a Coachella headliner, although West confirmed in yesterday’s post that he planned to bring out Scott during his own show.
“Come on Billie we love you please apologise to Trav and to the families of the people who lost their lives no one intended this to happen,” wrote West. “Trav didn’t have any idea of what was happening when he was on stage and was very hurt by what happened and yes Trav will be with me at Coachella but now I need Billie to apologise before I perform.”
In the comments, Eilish responded. “Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan,” she said.