Yandhi

On September 17, 2018, West announced his ninth studio album Yandhi, revealing the cover art and initial release date of September 29, 2018. The tracklist included tracks such as "We Got Love" with Teyana Taylor and American singer Lauryn Hill (originally intended for K.T.S.E.), "New Body", featuring Nicki Minaj, "The Storm", "Bye Bye Baby", "Hurricane", "Alien / SpaceX", "Last Name", "Sky City", "Garden", and "Chakras". While Yandhi did not release in its initial date, West was the musical guest for the season 44 premiere of Saturday Night Live.The following day, Universal Music Publishing Group accidentally leaked that the initial version of the album was to be eight tracks long. After missing its initial date, it was rescheduled to November 23, 2018, announced by Kim Kardashian on October 1. That same day of the announcement, West visited the TMZ offices for an interview, admitting that the album was not finished yet and that he would be going to Africa in two weeks to continue recording for Yandhi. West talked about recording in Chicago and how he "felt the roots" but wanted to go further his energy by touching African soil and recording in nature. On October 12, 2018, West arrived in Uganda and restarted work on the album in a dome-shaped studio set up in the Chobe Safari Lodge at the Murchison Falls National Park. West arrived with around 50 people and recorded for five days. He played new music, including a studio recording of the "We Got Love" remix, for a group of about 100 Ugandan school children during a charity event. In an October 21, 2018, interview, American rapper Quavo stated that his trio Migos had recorded for the album. In November 2018, following a Kids See Ghosts performance with Kid Cudi at American rapper Tyler, the Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, West tweeted that he felt Yandhi was not finished, and that he would "announce the release date once it's done," delaying the album indefinitely. By 2019, West went through a dramatic conversion towards born-again evangelical Christianity, including the formation of the Sunday Service Choir and a performance at Coachella on Easter Sunday, influencing the evolution of Yandhi to what was eventually released on October 19 as his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King. Several songs recorded for Yandhi would later be released by other artists, such as "Shake Dat" by Chief Keef and Mustard, originally titled "Jam 15". On May 1, 2025, West announced on a Kick livestream with Sneako and Neon that he planned to release Yandhi, saying: "We gotta release Yandhi".