Kanye West Says He Is Returning With Two New Albums

Kanye West is coming back with a vengeance — and two new albums.

The rapper, who had been largely quiet in public since a dramatic spiral near the end of 2016 — during which he canceled a major tour, was hospitalized for a “psychiatric emergency” and angered some fans by meeting with then-President-elect Donald J. Trump before going dark — re-emerged recently on Twitter and in photos with his most frequent musical collaborators, stoking anticipation for a new release.

On Thursday, Mr. West, 40, confirmed the whispers in his trademark off-the-cuff fashion, posting on Twitter, “my album is 7 songs,” followed two minutes later by a date: June 1.

That was not all. Mr. West also announced a second album in collaboration with his on-again, off-again associate Kid Cudi due out June 8, according to his tweets: “it’s called Kids See Ghost,” Mr. West wrote. “That’s the name of our group.”

Def Jam, Mr. West’s label, declined to comment further.

The new music would be Mr. West’s much-anticipated follow-up to his seventh solo album, “The Life of Pablo,” which was released in February 2016. That body of work, too, had a less-than-traditional release: Mr. West debuted the songs during a fashion show at Madison Square Garden, released it a few days later as an exclusive on Jay-Z’s streaming service Tidal and then continued to futz with the tracks, updating the music as he pleased.

Things took a stranger turn during the rapper’s subsequent “Saint Pablo” tour, which attempted to redefine the arena show. Though critically acclaimed, the tour was abruptly halted — and later canceled — after Mr. West began cutting concerts short to express his grievances with the likes of Hillary Clinton, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Mark Zuckerberg.

“I’ve been sitting here to give y’all my truth even at the risk of my own life — even at the risk of my own success, my own career,” he told one crowd.

Mr. West had barely uttered a peep to his followers since, even after his hospitalization, which was never explained, until surfacing last week with a barrage of social media content. He also interviewed his interior designer, Axel Vervoordt, for The Hollywood Reporter, telling him, “I don’t wish to be number one anymore, I wish to be water.”

On Twitter, such philosophical musings were mainlined directly to fans as Mr. West indicated he was writing a book “in real time” through the missives.

“Some people have to work within the existing consciousness while some people can shift the consciousness,” he wrote.