By Joshua Choe, Opinions Editor
Long awaited album by rapper, song writer, and producer Kanye West, “Donda” dropped at around 5AM PST, August 29, 2021, marking his 10th studio album. Through labels GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings, it was a blessing for the album to finally drop. Delayed from its initial release date of July 24, 2020, Donda was put on hold again and again to the dismay of fans, including myself. Problems with Kanye changing up songs, both removing and adding rappers (Snoop Dogg was originally supposed to have a verse on one of the songs), and issues with DaBaby being featured on the song Jail Pt. 2, added to its continuous delay. However, multiple listening parties were held, and through them, Kanye previewed his tracks and revealed his living quarters within Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz stadium. Fans were able to note the changes between the songs played at the listening parties and the final version of each song on the album after its release.
Moving aside from its short history, the album ultimately lived up to its hype. All of the songs featured were actually better than I expected, and I was more than happy to find the typical musicality that I would expect from Kanye. Despite those that criticize the album, saying that only having a few good songs on an album doesn’t make it good, I frankly think that they’re wrong. It’s simply impossible for every song in an album to be amazing, and some songs are just meant to grow on you. I would definitely know because I used to hate Kanye before I took some time to let his songs grow on me and recognize his genius. I’m not going to even mention the number of people that only listened to the Donda Chant and unironically based their opinion of Donda off of that. The album was reminiscent of his songs: Waves, RoboCop, Dark Fantasy, and Ghost Town, which are, in my opinion and probably a lot others, among the greatest works he’s ever created. This album seemed to take a little bit more of a somber tone, in memory of Donda West, Kanye’s late mother, who died in 2007 at 58 years. I would rate this album a high 8.5/10. The only disappointment I could find from the album, aside from its multiple delays, was the removal of a lot of verses from multiple artists, including an extended Kid Cudi verse.
My favorites from the album included: Jail (feat. Jay-Z), Keep My Spirit Alive (featuring KayCyy), and New Again (feat. Chris Brown). Jay-Z’s verse on Jail was very appreciated and it was definitely nice to hear his voice on Donda. KayCyy’s chorus verse was perfect for Keep My Spirit Alive, providing the perfect back for the song. Honorable mentions were Hurricane (feat. The Weeknd, Lil Baby, and KayCyy), Lord I Need You, Jesus Lord, and Moon (Kid Cudi, and Don Toliver).
Personally for me, Kanye’s music represents a lot of the best memories of my life and represents my mental changes, getting me through the worst periods of my life so far and providing me something to lean on. Throughout the whole last year and the years before that, the four above-mentioned songs, Waves, RoboCop, and Dark Fantasy were always present, playing on my phone during my best memories of long bike trips with my friends and late night hangouts. And that is a firsthand proof of what listening to music is: to be able to form connections and feel the music on a higher level, past what you initially hear. I look forward to connecting Donda with new, good memories throughout this year.
