Kanye West has made yet another controversial move. This weekend, the artist released a new song, “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine,” in a since-deleted post on X. In addition to the surprise of the star releasing new music for the first time in years, fans were particularly surprised to see his 11-year-old daughter North West featured on the track, alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs and his son King Combs.
The song opens up with what sounds like a recorded conversation between West and Combs, who is currently in federal custody facing sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
“I wanna just thank you so much for just taking care of my kids, man,” Combs says in the audio. “Ain’t nobody reach out to them, ain’t nobody call them. Man, that meant so much, you know what I’m sayin’, that you reached out to them and took them under your wing while I’m in this motherf***er. And I appreciate you.”
“Absolutely, I love you so much, man,” West replies. “You raised me. Even when I ain’t know you, know what I’m saying?”
Concluding the conversation with Combs saying, “I feel the love,” the full track which also features a newly signed Yeezy artist, Jasmine Williams, includes a verse from Combs’ 26-year-old son, King and a short verse from North in which she repeats, “When you see me shinin’, then you see the light.”
Moments before dropping the surprise track, West posted a series of screenshots of an alleged conversation between him and his ex-wife and North’s mother, Kim Kardashian. In the text thread, Kardashian reportedly reminded the rapper that she trademarked their eldest child’s name in an effort to stop the release of the song.
“I asked you at the time if I can trademark her name. You said yes. When she’s 18, it goes to her. So stop,” the reality star reportedly wrote, per Billboard. “I sent paperwork over so she wouldn’t be in the Diddy song to protect her. One person has to trademark! We agreed … I would get all of our kids’ names and trademarks So no one else would take them.”
To which the rapper replied, “Amend it or I’m going to war. And neither of us will recover from the public fallout. You’re going to have to kill me.”
Though the rapper has since deleted the posts of the songs and the text conversation, West released an ambiguous tweet on Monday saying, “THE MAN MAKES THE FINAL DECISION,” which seems to be a dig at his ex-wife, who is reportedly doing everything to block the song.
The release of West’s new song comes shortly after Combs appeared in court on Friday March 14, pleading not guilty to the latest indictment, which charges him with two decades of sex trafficking crimes.
Combs is set to go to trial in May.
