Have you listened to Kanye West’s newest album – Man Across the Sea? You haven’t? Well, nobody did.
Man Across the Sea was supposed to be Kanye West’s twelfth studio album, with its release rumored to be May 20th, 2023. May came and went by, and this album wasn’t released.
When this album was announced, Kanye’s fans went wild on the Internet. Everyone was hyped and excited about this album.
Even though Kanye faced backlash over his anti-semitic views and weird behavior, he still remained a hip-hop legend, which is why his albums are so highly anticipated.
Interestingly enough, the album art and the tracklist for this album leaked, as well as some songs, which were later proven to be fake and made by someone else. Additionally, some people trolled clothes by claiming that they had listened to this album.
There are even blogs and album reviews written about Man Across the Sea – stating that their authors have listened to it. Still, Kanye’s official Wikipedia page doesn’t even mention Man Across the Sea. If this was a real album, there is no chance it wouldn’t be mentioned.
All in all, the whole story about Man Across the Sea is crazy and wild. However, this wasn’t the first time that Kanye West’s album was shrouded in mystery, leaked before its official release, or even used in a “war” of popularity against other rappers (see: 50 Cent).
Man Across the Sea Alleged Tracklist and Album Art
Apparently a New Kanye West album is coming soon named Man Across The Sea pic.twitter.com/cVYWSI0b0s
— YZY Never Broke Again (@icatchdubzonly) May 10, 2023
Man Across the Sea supposedly had 15 songs:
- Aggression
- Dove
- Domas Interlude
- DEAR SUMMER
- EXISTENCIAL
- Fake Friends
- Luke’s Interlude
- LA Monster
- Never Forgive
- PRAISE
- REJOICE
- Stressing
- Schizophrenia
- Suicide
- You Can’t Be
LA Monster and Never Forgive were already known songs that were previously leaked. Other songs were never released, but their titles seemed convincing enough and similar to other Kanye’s works.
In early May 2023, the album artwork was leaked. It showed a brown (grizzly?) bear walking on a snowy terrain. This artwork further fueled the rumors about a new album, but it was discovered that this artwork wasn’t made for Man Across the Sea.
It was actually made during the making of Donda – the tenth Kanye’s album. Since Kanye decided to go with a black visual for Donda, the bear image was discarded. This was one of the first clues that Man Across the Sea was just a rumor and not a real album.
Was Man Across the Sea Ever Released?
Ye Kanye West new album? 👀
It has been speculating and observing an unconfirmed leak of a new Album called " Man Across The Sea “
It is scheduled to be released on May 20.
Even names of possible songs have been shown.#KanyeWest pic.twitter.com/RkqOIoTR5W
— YEFANATICS (@yefanatics) May 10, 2023
Despite so many people hoping and believing that Man Across the Sea will be released on May 20, 2023, it didn’t happen. Millions of Kanye’s fans were disappointed and upset, but some of them decided to continue the illusion.
On both Reddit and Twitter, multiple users claimed that they had heard songs from Man Across the Sea. Some of them just wanted to troll other users, others wanted to act “superior,” while some even believed it.
On YouTube, TikTok, and Spotified, several users uploaded audio tracks that were apparently from Man Across the Sea. However, all these tracks were either previous leaks or they were obviously fake.
2023 has passed, and Man Across the Sea is still not released. Kanye West never confirmed nor denied the rumors about this album, which is hardly surprising. In the end, it seems that all the hype about this album was completely fueled by fans and their rumors.
As such, Man Across the Sea will probably end up like one of several Kanye’s never-released albums. Still, this album remains a fascinating phenomenon and a perfect example of how wishful thinking can fool so many people.
Other Rumored Kanye’s Albums
Speaking of other Kanye’s unreleased albums, Man Across the Sea wasn’t the first one to fool the fans. And it probably won’t be the latest. Here is the list of other Kanye’s rumored albums that were never released, at least not officially:
- Cruel Winter – This album was supposed to be a follow-up to Kanye’s 2012 Cruel Summer. Apparently, Kanye worked on this album twice: the first time in 2012/2013 and the second time in 2016/2017. The song Champions was leaked, but all we got from the Cruel Winter album.
- Turbo Grafx 16 (TG16) – After releasing The Life of Pablo in early 2016, Kanye also planned to release TG16 in the summer of the same year. However, he never released it, most probably because he moved on to making new songs instead.
- LOVE EVERYONE – Kanye worked on the LOVE EVERYONE album between late 2016 and early 2018. However, instead of releasing it, Kanye decided to change it significantly, scrap it, and release the ye album instead.
- Yandhi – This album was meant to be released on September 29, 2018. It was supposed to feature many interesting collaborations, but after several delays, Kanye put its release on indefinite hold.
- Good Ass Job – This is actually the working title of several of Kanye’s unreleased projects. The first such project was in 2008, and it was supposed to be released right after Graduation, but Kanye decided to release 808s & Heartbreak instead. Then, Good Ass Job was supposed to be released in 2009, but it evolved into My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Finally, Kanye planned to release a collaboration album named Good Ass Job, working with Chance the Rapper, but this never happened as well.
- Donda 2 and Donda 3 – Donda 2 was supposed to be Kanye’s 11th album, but it never got officially released. In the end, it was released as a demo version with several post-release updates. There are also some rumors about Donda 3 being released, but that’s not confirmed.
All these unreleased albums show one thing: you should never believe Kanye’s album announcements until the album is released. Otherwise, you might fall into the same trap as the people who believed that Man Across the Sea would come out in May of 2023.
Conclusion
Man Across the Sea was rumored to be the new Kanye West album, supposedly released on May 20, 2023. However, the release never happened, even though some fans claimed that the album was released.
Another interesting thing about this “album” was the fact that Kanye didn’t confirm its release. So, most of the hype about this album was caused by the wishful thinking of millions of fans.
Who knows, maybe Man Across the Sea is a legitimate album that will be released one day. Until then, it will remain only one of many Kanye’s unfinished and unreleased projects.
