Junya (song)

The song serves as a tribute to Japanese designer Junya Watanabe from West and Playboi Carti, who boast of their watches made by him.^[1] "Junya" also features West referencing Giannis Antetokounmpo of the basketball team Milwaukee Bucks, who had won Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals around the same time the song was first previewed during a listening party for the album at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium in July.^[2] In June 2023, footage leaked to Instagram of West and Playboi Carti working on the song in the studio. The footage reportedly came from the rapper's unreleased documentary for Donda and shows him at the starting stage for the album.^[3] After having been mentioned in the song, Watanabe became more relevant across fashion culture.^[4] The song contains a diss towards Canadian musician Drake from West as he alludes to the delayed 2021 release of Certified Lover Boy and declares: "Why can't losers never lose in peace?/Ain't nobody 'round me losing sleep."^[5][6][7] This stands along with "Pure Souls" as one of the multiple occasions that West dissed Drake on the record.^[7]

A second part of the song was released under the title of "Junya pt 2" as part of Donda on August 29, 2021.^[8] The track maintained the same producers as original, with vocals from American singer Ty Dolla Sign added.^[9] West had previously guested Ty Dolla Sign on his tracks "Only One" (2014), "Real Friends" (2016), and "Everything We Need" (2019), while the singer featured him on his 2020 single "Ego Death" and “Track 6” both from the singer’s third album Featuring Ty Dolla Sign. "Junya pt 2" marked West and Ty Dolla Sign's last collaboration until Vultures 1 in 2024, their debut studio album released as ¥$.^[10][11]