UPDATED 3/9, 9:50 a.m.: Kanye hopped on Instagram to share a screenshot reporting about Donda 2’s Billboard chart ineligibility, taking it as a cause for celebration.
“Big win for the kid,” Ye wrote. “We can no longer be counted or judged We won we won we won we won We make my own systems We set our own value aaaand yesterdays price is not todays price baaaaabeeeee!!!!!”
See original story below.
So far Donda 2 is only available via Kanye West’s Stem Player, just as he promised, but along with that comes the caveat that it won’t appear on the charts.
According to Billboard magazine, because the project is exclusively available through the device, it’s in breach of the Billboard charts’ merchandise bundle policy, which disqualifies albums that come with merch.
“Since the Stem Player is a fairly new concept, however, people familiar with the matter from both Billboard and MRC say they plan to continue to monitor its evolution as it relates to chart eligibility,” the mag writes.
Ye’s Stem Player has evidently been wildly successful, with West saying he made $1.3 million in the 24 hours following his announcement about Donda 2’s availability. If fans purchased the streaming tool this year, it came loaded with 2019’s Jesus Is King, the first installment of Donda, and Donda 2; if fans bought the Stem Player in 2021, Donda 2 can be uploaded from a computer. The device allows users to remix songs while playing them. Ye shared on Feb. 18 that he had sold 39,500 Stem Player units for a total of $8.6 million.
Yeezy debuted Donda 2in Miami on Feb. 22, and a day later shared four of songs to the Stem Player website. Two days later, he uploaded another 12 tracks, calling the 16-song package V2.22.22 Miami or the Miami Version.
In a new update, people who have purchased the Stem Player device will now be able to upload Donda 2 tracks to their computers and phones.
The first Donda opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last August, moving 309,000 equivalent album units and scoring the biggest week for any record released in 2021. Drake’s Certified Lover Boy took the throne the next week with 613,000 units.
