The Chicago native is back with a bang with his latest
On 29 August 2021, Kanye West dropped his tenth studio album, Donda and it was not without controversy. The album, named after his late mother, came to fruition through three separate listening events in two of the largest venues in the United States. The events were also being live-streamed to millions all over the world. At one point in the first event, West, wearing some sort of complete face covering, started doing push-ups in the middle of the stage. In the second event, the world was blessed with a Jay-Z verse on one of the songs, only to have it “removed” in the third event and replaced with a verse from Dababy, who is amidst a major controversy revolving around homophobic comments he made at a music festival. On stage with Dababy and West was Marilyn Manson… for some reason. All this is to say that the lead up to Kanye West’s tenth studio album was all but orthodox.
But the album itself is a really well delivered piece of music from one of the most influential artists of the twenty-first century. And I know that this might not be the most popular opinion of the album, but nevertheless allow me to explain.
I must begin by commenting on the unorthodox album lead up because I think it is critical to how the album should be received. Listening parties were a brilliant idea. West was able to slowly flesh out melodies, beats, and other ideas in a setting where he could receive the world’s feedback. The songs became more complete over the three events; at the first, the songs were quite stripped down – bare to a degree – but in the second and third events I could hear more layers of different instruments. This allowed West to turn his album into a living thing; something constantly changing and reacting to its listeners. And the result of this was that when Donda was released it contained singable and familiar melodies that had been heard at the listening events prior, but with slight alterations to make the songs unique. People somewhat knew the songs, and somewhat already liked them.
The musical content of the album also deserves a lot of praise that it is yet to receive. People have called it jumbled and unorganized. Critics have called it overstuffed and obsessive. But, despite these comments, Donda is undoubtedly a great piece of music.
This is not to say that it’s perfect. Lyrically, it’s some of his weaker work. Thematically, it tends to be all over the place. But it doesn’t change the fact that it is a great piece of music.
The production is truly impeccable, as expected. This is one area where Kanye West does not miss. His ability to make beats and layer instrumentals, while also finding some of the most unique samples in the history of hip hop music, is unprecedented. Listen to “Believe What I Say” and tell me that you are not impressed by the way that he weaves the Lauren Hill sample in with a super-groovy bassline. Or listen to “Heaven and Hell” – which is trademark Kanye production, or “Jail pt 1” to hear Jay-Z rap over an electric guitar.
Additionally, West came through with the features. Fivio Foreign, Playboi Carti, Jay-Z, Young Thug and more are littered throughout the album, doing their respective things on Kanye-produced beats. On “Off the Grid” Fivio Foreign gave us one of the hottest verses of the summer. “Ok Ok” reintroduced us to Lil Yachty, and “Keep my Spirit Alive” revealed that underground legends like Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine have no problem keeping up with some of the greatest. If you listened to rap in the last year or so, then it is easy to see the value in Kanye’s feature choices; he put many from the “new wave” of hip hop, like Foreign, Yachty, and Don Toliver together with some of the greatest of all time, like Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and himself. Kanye also knows how to get the most out of a feature – everyone sounds like they brought their A-game to the Kanye West studio sessions.
More than anything though, Donda is extremely listenable. It sounds good and it’s catchy. At the end of the day, what more is good music, then music that someone enjoys listening too? Does good music need to be entirely thematically sound? Does good music need to be lyrically masterful? I would say no – good music is good music because people like listening to it.
“Come to life” is one of the better songs on the album in my opinion. But like Kanye, and like the album, and like the listening parties, it is not perfect. Lyrically it is solid – nothing to write home about – but Kanye sings and raps with raw emotion. It strikes a chord, with me at least. But perhaps what draws me to the song is the second half, where Kanye introduces the piano riff in combination with the heavy-hitting 808 drums. This to me is Kanye at his peak – simply sounding great on beautiful instrumentals. And what more is great music, then simply sounding great.
Give Donda a listen. It’s worth it. You will find something you like about it.