Kanye West Made Collaborators Wear "Donda" Merch During Studio Sessions

Fivio Foreign claims that Kanye West enforced a strict dress code during the "Donda" recording sessions.

BYAron A.
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Every artist has their own specific vibe in the studio. Some enjoy recording with only the engineer in the room while others prefer bringing a group of people in the studio to capture an authentic vibe. Kanye West is notorious for enforcing a strict set of rules when in recording sessions. For My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasycollaborators were forbidden from tweeting or wearing hipster hats. For Jesus Is King, 'Ye directed those involved to abstain from pre-marital sex. And for Donda, everyone was expected to be wearing Yeezy merch.

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Fivio Foreign recently sat down with Power 106.1's LA Leakers where he discussed coming back home and his relationship with Kanye. Fivio had one of the best verses on Donda and ended up spending a significant amount of time with 'Ye. So, when it came down to his set of studio rules, he said that he would be making everyone wear his merch.

"Everybody gotta be wearing Fivio merch," he told DJ Sour Milk and Justin Credible. "I learned that from 'Ye. When we was at the 'Ye shit... We had the vest on. He made us all wear Donda merch. Know we on Donda time."

While there were bulletproof vests with Donda written in front of them, it seems like everyone was able to leave with a pair of Yeezys, as well.

"Yeezys, certain pants. No, this is what he do. It's like a uniform. He'll give us like Yeezys, some time of pants -- some type of black cargo -- and then Donda shirts. That's what he do," Fivio explained. "Uniform. So I guess it take away the, like, egos."

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About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.