Kanye West claims new album Donda released against his wishes

Kanye claims the album was released without his approval. Photo / AP

After weeks of false starts and delays, Kanye West's latest album Donda was finally released to streaming services late on Sunday night and, according to the rapper, it was against his wishes.

The 27-track, near two-hour album – which opens with a female voice repeating the album's title (and West's mother's name) more than 60 times – was initially set to be released on July 24, then August 20, then August 27.

Finally, after yet another grandiose listening party over the weekend that saw West take to the stage flanked by disgraced rocker Marilyn Manson and scandal-prone rapper DaBaby – the mammoth album was released last night.

And Kanye's not happy, claiming his record company – perhaps sick of the false starts – had taken matters into their own hands.

"UNIVERSAL PUT MY ALBUM OUT WITHOUT MY APPROVAL AND THEY BLOCKED JAIL 2 FROM BEING ON THE ALBUM," West, 44, posted to Instagram this morning.

Confusingly, a song called Jail Pt 2 is actually on the version of the album that Universal have apparently released against the rapper's wishes.

Other guests on the album include Jay-Z, The Weeknd, Young Thug, Jay Electronica and Travis Scott.

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Early reviews have been mixed: NME wrote that the album contains "some gems among lots – and lots – of filler," saying that "had he taken a little more time to edit things, this could have been a classic – focused, poignant and powerful."

The Times gave the album four stars, calling it "sprawling but often brilliant" and noting that "religion covers its style and content".

The Telegraph awarded it three stars, saying the album "encapsulates the man himself: Ego-driven, brilliant and utterly exhausting".

"Full of sound and fury it may be – but West's latest ultimately lacks direction," they said.

At one hour and 49 minutes, it's certainly West's longest album to date - more than four times longer than his last release, 2019's gospel-heavy JESUS IS KING.

Donda is West's first release since his high-profile split from his wife of seven years, Kim Kardashian. The music icon and reality TV mogul split after Kanye's ill-fated attempt to become the next US President last year – a bid that saw him collect just 60,000 votes out of an estimated total of 160 million.

The father of four cited "personal reasons" for the change, with a judge needing to approve of the petition before it becomes official.