Chris Brown’s Vocals Have Vanished From Kanye’s ‘New Again’

Kanye West is back to his tinkering ways, making several ostensible changes to Donda, including the removal of Chris Brown’s vocals from one song. 

This updated version of Donda began hitting streaming services on Monday, September 27th, with more updates rolling through Tuesday, the 28th. The biggest change appears to be the complete removal of Brown from “New Again,” although West also appears to have removed the Kenyan rapper KayCyy from “Keep My Spirit Alive” (he’s still on “Hurricane,” though).

A representative for West did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.

With regard to Brown, it’s possible West’s decision to ax him was as much a creative one as a personal one: Upon Donda’s release at the end of August, Brown — supposedly unhappy with how minor his feature was — called West a “whole hoe” in a quickly deleted but widely screen-shotted Instagram Story. In an equally bold move, Brown then posted — but again quickly deleted — the full version of his Donda contribution on Instagram, along with the caption, “The verse/chorus I mysteriously didn’t do!”

Instead of Brown’s vocals, “New Again” now features the Sunday Service Choir on the hook. A representative for Brown did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment. 

Aside from the changes to “New Again” and “Keep My Spirit Alive,” West appears to have otherwise just made tweaks to the album’s mix. Those interested in an in-depth breakdown of those changes can check out a recent video from the popular West podcast, Watching the Throne.