On Monday (Oct. 23) night, Ty Dolla Sign announced a “multi-stadium listening event” for his highly anticipated joint project with Kanye West. Set for Nov. 3, the event signaled a dramatic pivot in the duo’s promotional strategy.
The news arrived after West’s plans for an Italian performance met unforeseen challenges. On Saturday (Oct. 21), Billboard disclosed that the Chicago native’s team made efforts to orchestrate a show at Italy’s RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia. However, insiders later confirmed that the endeavor was stalled.
Meanwhile, record labels are seemingly keeping a cautious distance from West following a series of anti-Semitic remarks in 2022. Rap-Up reported that the pair might consider smaller, more flexible distributors for their joint venture. Rick Ross also showed interest in releasing the upcoming album under his Maybach Music Group imprint.
West and Ty Dolla Sign are no strangers to collaboration. Their creative chemistry fueled hits like “Junya pt 2” from West’s 2021 LP, Donda, and older tracks like 2020’s “Ego Death” and 2016’s “Real Friends.”
Stadium events are familiar territory for West, who held three major listening sessions for his 10th studio album several years ago. It was previously revealed that the rapper paid $1 million per day to live in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In related news, West made headlines last Wednesday (Oct. 18) after Ian Connor shared a text message the Yeezy designer sent to Elon Musk. The Grammy winner speculated that he may have signs of autism and lambasted the Twitter CEO for not supporting him during his public divorce from Kim Kardashian.
“You owe me nothing. You never have to speak to me again, but if we do speak, the nature of the relationship has to change. I’m not bipolar. I have signs of autism from my car accident,” the text read. “You can’t watch Kim keep my kids from me and not say anything publicly, and then call yourself my friend, so I can bring my audience to your struggling platform.”