Todd Rundgren didn’t hold back when it came to expressing his dissatisfaction with Kanye West’s new album Donda. Rundgren revealed what he believes was the driving reason behind the album’s turbulent distribution and continual modifications in a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock ahead of his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
“My involvement went on for a year, and in the end I realized why they hurriedly wrapped the whole thing up and put out what is obviously really raw, unprocessed stuff,” he said. “It’s because Drake was running the whole process. He was too afraid that Drake would one-up him, so he hurried up and released the album the weekend before Drake could get his out. And in the end, Drake ate his lunch anyway.”
Rundgren echoed another former Kanye collaborator, Soulja Boy, who chastised the producer for leaving him off the final tracklist and “wasting his time.” Rundgren referred to Kanye as a “dilettante” who merely dabbled in production while creating shoes, squandering the rocker’s time. He explained, “I’m still a producer, and I don’t want to be driftwood in the process.” “Nobody would regularly make tracks like that unless they had silly money to throw around,” he said of Kanye’s preference for spectacle above craftsmanship. Nobody rents a stadium to make a record in. Nobody flies in the entire world of hip-hop just to croak one syllable, just so you can say that everybody was on it.”
He claims, though, that he has no idea if he is even working on the project. He revealed, “I have three albums worth of Kanye stems on my computer.” “Because Kanye kept calling to ask me to contribute vocals to the album. In July, as we approached the finish line, I just said, “That’s enough for me.” I’m not sure if any of this is being used.’ You don’t receive much input on what it is from him.” He is in the dark because of the lack of communication, unsure if he really has a role in all of the chaos. “If I can contribute something, fine,” he conceded. “If I can’t, just let me know. I’m out of here […] There is a possibility that I’m actually in there somewhere. There’s so much junk in that record!”
