“Billionaire sport, step up to the court, rented a room, we brought the resort”, raps Kanye on his new record Donda. He then goes “God got me, baby, God got the children, devil run the playground, God own the building.” One thing I learned from this released was if you believe that money is the root of all evil, don’t tell that to this man because he’ll shoot you a look like you were nuts. One might not think a holy sentiment and a love of the high life couldn’t (or shouldn’t) go together, but that’s a conflict West is glad to embrace.
The dramatic and overly flamboyant buildup to Donda at points threatened to eclipse the actual release itself at points. One interesting contrast about him over the years has been how he can take himself incredibly seriously- it is dedicated to his late mother, after all- but in a manner that’s so over-the-top and silly to actually believe.
These included elaborate shows in Chicago’s Soldier Field featuring a replica of Kanye’s childhood home, reuniting with Kim Khardasian, bringing out the currently controversial Marilyn Manson and DaBaby for a live freestyle (both of them are sinners that Kanye wishes to help, you see), getting in arguments with Chance the Rapper in the studio, publically reigniting his long-standing beef with Drake (complete with mailing him Joker pics and posting the guy’s address online, and…lighting himself ablaze in a fireproof suit. It’s a spectacle that’s hard to ignore, but as amusing as it is, I say that knowing full well how desperate Kanye always is for the spotlight and attention, whether or not he’s got new music locked and loaded.
If you were to ask Rick Ross, his take is that the feud is just part of hip-hop theatrics. But the question is whether or not said theatrics have drowned out the actual musical content, which we all know is what keeps the public interested in him in spite of his many questionable public choices. So now after over a year’s worth of buildup, it’s finally been released, and my first immediate impression? It’s a super-lengthy director’s cut of a film, only in audio form.
I’m a bit split on elements of it because he’s still got entertaining verses and haunting beats, but it’s an album that rehashes a lot of similar themes over two hours and twenty-seven tracks. It’s like Kanye’s Irishman, where there’s plenty to genuinely get into, but it drags to where by the end I’m thinking “yes, okay Ye, I get what you’re trying to say, you’ve said that about five times already.”
For me, the strongest songs are when he’s just cutting loose. “Off The Grid” is a notable highlight, partially because it’s a track that feels like the best of his earlier albums- it feels like something written for Graduation. Playboi Carti’s verses on “Grid” and “Junya” are his usual simplistic flow, but he delivers his verses with flippant energy that’s always compelling, Ye’s love of high fashion is still a key theme in his work, with Junya being a tribute to Comme des Garcons’ Junya Watanabe.
“Remote Control” is a cool earworm, at least until the end once it samples the “I am Globglogabgalab” meme. It’s so weird and out-of-nowhere, and something he would likely come up with. Many people have given Ye heat over his career or being excessively sample-happy, and the obviousness of his Lauryn Hill-based “Believe What I Say” isn’t going to change your mind if that bugs you about his songs, but he does manage to weave a catchy groove from it with some strong sing-songy bars. “Hurricane” is an eerie R&B slow jam with teeth, featuring The Weeknd backed by futuristic synths, and a Lil’ Baby feature where he makes it sound easy with a down-to-earth but still modern flow.
Lyrically, West still has much of the same spiritual focus that’s always been a part of his catalog since The College Dropout, but it’s intensified in recent years. Songs like “God Breathed” and “Keep My Spirit Alive” are deeply faith-oriented while also retaining a street element, and the prosecution and attitude of the songs still have a gritty hip hop feeling to them. Not that he can’t go full-bore gospel, as he does on “24”.
He still knows how to convey a good atmosphere to his credit, evident on “Jesus Lord”, which contains some musings from the son of Gangster Disciples leader Larry Hoover to close. Though this record isn’t as political-minded as a Common LP, “Jail” has a smooth Jay-Z verse that allows Hov to criticize his friend, as well as himself (“Told him, ‘stop all of that red cap, we goin’ home,’ not me with all of these sins, castin’ stones”).
The major problem is that many of these tracks are obviously demos. Ye can be a studio hermit and that’s part of the reason he’s developed such innovative sounds over the years, but some cuts like “Tell The Vision” (which consists of a simple minor chord and a verse from the late Pop Smoke) don’t even feel like they’re finished.
Also, some of these remixes are just guest verses on the cutting room floor that Ye originally wanted on the record before the label told him “train’s leaving the station, Ye”. Jay Electronica’s part on “Jesus Lord Pt. 2” isn’t bad, and as much as I don’t agree with DaBaby’s defensive stance on his recent homophobic comments in “Jail Pt. 2” (“The food you took of my table, that feed my daughters, huh?”), he’s got a nice flow. But in the end, these are bonus cuts on a single release. It’s gimmicks like these that make Donda feel like it’s got way too much padding.
I could say Donda isn’t too far removed from a lot of West’s music in how it can come off like a tug-of-war between contrasting elements of his personality, notably here his spiritual faith and his rampant materialism. And it’s got arguably some of the catchiest music he’s done in the last half-decade or so, but unfortunately, he’s buried those underneath a ton of filler I’m not sure needed to be here. And I do realize *who* we are talking about here, but sometimes less really is more.
If this was edited just a touch more before the final cut, it would have landed perhaps in West’s personal top five, but the overstuffed nature of it limits it. And part of me would have liked to have heard him return to that wry sense of humor he had in tracks in “New Workout Plan”, “Don’t Like (Remix)” and even MBDTF. Still, Donda probably has enough for Kanye fans to chew on with repeat listens.
But what did you think? If you’d had the chance to stream it, let us know your opinion on it at FAN’s social spots!