Creating “new” Ye songs by remixing them or blending them with other songs is fairly common amongst Kanye-themed online communities. Santos says one of the biggest mediums is the subreddit YandhiLeaks , a forum dedicated to constructing fan-made songs from snippets of Yandhi , Kanye’s mythical unreleased 2018 album. During a time when new music from the iconic artist was scarce, fans began to place vocal stems from old songs like “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” on new beats leaked from a variety of sources, such as Kim Kardashian ’s Instagram stories.
It was in these supportive online forums that Santos earned a name for himself in the Kanye fandom. "I would have no following without these communities," he said. "They’ve carried the album into parts of the Internet I wouldn’t have even known about."
An early fan of Kanye 2049 , freelance front-end developer Starfennec outro video posted to toasty digital's YouTube page, he prophesied that Kanye would win the election and declare a “war on emissions” to combat climate change. By clicking “EARTH.txt” on the website’s homepage, users are provided resources to take action against global warming, such as reading material and links to donate to environmental organizations.
Riding on the coattails of the Internet hype behind his scintillating Kanye 2049 album, Santos is already preparing his next project, Good Kid Twisted Fantasy , which will bring to life a dream collaboration between Kanye and Kendrick Lamar . The Kanye 2049 website provides a sneak peek of the record in the hidden file “GKTF (DEMO).mp3,” which interpolates Kendrick’s vocals on “m.A.A.d city” with the instrumental of Kanye’s “Blame Game.” On December 24th, Santos released a teaser video for the upcoming album.
Santos says he’s almost done with Good Kid Twisted Fantasy , but feels pressure to please fans. Kendrick’s good kid, m.A.A.d city and Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are among the highest-rated and most beloved hip-hop albums of all time.
"Both albums are high up on a lot of people’s lists,” said Santos. "So I’m a little worried about letting people down.”
As far as his career in music production goes, Santos says he won’t be quitting his day job any time soon. It’s difficult to monetize his work with toasty digital given the intricacies of the copyright laws that dictate sampling, so he launched a Patreon account to release exclusive material and invite fans to suggest ideas for new remixes. Santos hopes to expand his artistry and eventually move outside of Kanye-related material, but his ultimate goal is for Kanye 2049 to reach the ears of Saint Pablo himself.
It is undeniable that Kanye’s discography has fostered entire communities and inspired immeasurable creativity. It’s been over a year since the fabled rapper has released a full-length album, but fans can find solace in artists like toasty digital, who are able to conjure ways to tap into Kanye's future by living vicariously through his past.