Kanye West: Donda Album Review

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, released his much-awaited new album Donda and Donda 2 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The American songwriter, producer, and rapper was raised in Chicago. Ye began his rapping journey in the industry at a very young age and got his first big hit after releasing 'Slow Jamz' in 2003. It was the 44-year-old rapper's first single that charted on Billboard Hot 100.

Ye is the early 2000s biggest solo artist who has sold more than 140 million records. He has also won over 24 Grammy awards, making him and Jay-Z the two American rappers with the most Grammys in history.

Let's take a look at Ye's recent album, Donda. Read on!

Kanye West – Donda

West opens his album Donda with an extended rant about the demise of his mother, which then breaks into breezy and ebullient music telling the tale of his arrest and being taken to jail. The first track, 'Jail', is an unnecessarily long track of 3 and a half minutes of Ye ranting. However, the tune is somewhat catchy and tonally complex, something that made West one of the most credited artists of the 21st century.

Although Kanye West is still one of the most famous artists, he hasn't lived up to his reputation in the last 10 years due to public behavior that has alienated him from his audience.

Nevertheless, in the past, West had made public apologies through his mea culpa album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, in 2010 for the Taylor Swift fiasco.

However, Donda is nothing like the previous albums. In this album, West claims that one can only be redeemed by his ancestors or 'the Almighty'. Although the album is overstuffed and lyrically confusing, it may be one of the most coherent music albums that West has managed to produce in more than ten years.

'Jesus Is King' has gospel-themed music, after which Ye veers to '24', a track that sounds like a Sunday church choir, to 'Remote Control', a musically coherent yet strictly mechanical track. 'Heaven and Hell' has a cheerful hip-hop theme and is collaborated with Roddy Rich. Other tracks like 'Believe What I Say' and 'Go on and Get Your Best Attorney' are two great party songs that are surprisingly pleasant. 'Lil' Baby Jesus' and 'Jail' are robotically precise and sound like West's attempt at catharsis.

'Come to Life' is another track on the album about his public divorce from Kim Kardashian, which makes the listener concerned about his mental health.

West has overstuffed the album with discussions on Kim Kardashian, baby Jesus, and God and redemption. However, you'll be sure to find a few hidden gems amongst the collection of overstuffed tracks.  

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