Kanye West paid tribute to his late mother Donda on Sunday (July 12, 2020) with a new track, vowing to “end racism once and for all”.
The rapper took to Twitter to debut the tune, titled DONDA, which is dedicated to his mom, who passed away in 2007 of complications from cosmetic surgery at the age of 58. The song is presumed to appear on Kanye’s forthcoming album, God’s Country.
“In loving memory of my incredible mother on her birthday,” tweeted the 43-year-old rapper, who uploaded a coinciding music video featuring footage from his childhood.
In the opening of the track, Kanye’s mother can be heard reciting the lyrics to rapper KRS-One’s hit Sound Of Da Police, as a gospel-style track plays in the background.
As she continues to read, several clips play, including footage of a printing press with superimposed video of a concerned-looking African-American woman, clips of a young African-American boy peddling up a hill on his bicycle, and footage of an African-American mom walking with her children.
The video also shows numerous black people living their lives in a country abroad, before the clip switches to film of Kanye roaming a beach.
In the lyrics of the song, Kanye vows to “start a revolution”, with the star, who recently announced he’s to run for President of the U.S. this year, adding: “Y’all had your fake leaders, don’t worry we got it / it only takes 21 days to break a habit.”
He also addresses his mom directly, rapping: “Momma I need you to tuck me in / I done made some mistakes and they rubbed them in / I know you and Grandma had enough of them / Why I gotta be so stubborn, then?”
The song concludes abruptly with the husband of Kim Kardashian explaining how he hopes “to end racism once and for all”.
