Rating: 2.5/5 Falcons

Donda, named after Kanye West’s late mother, is West’s 10th album. “Donda” is jarringly repeated 58 times in the first track, “Donda Chant,” each time for a year of her life. Surprisingly, “Donda Chant” is one of the few tracks that directly pays tribute to Donda West, who passed away due to complications from surgery. While Donda has themes of repentance, loss, and reflects on West’s numerous trials and tribulations, its controversy is difficult to ignore. Highly contentious figures were featured on the album like Chris Brown; as well as DaBaby and Marilyn Manson who performed alongside West at his third album release party, drowning out what could have been positive media coverage with criticism. 

Nevertheless, the production of the 27-track 108-minute album is impeccable; West was a prodigal producer long before he began rapping. Standout tracks include ”Believe What I Say,” featuring a soulful, uplifting sample of Lauryn Hill’s Doo-Wop (That Thing), meditating on the downsides of fame–a common theme throughout West’s discography. In “Hurricane (ft. Lil Baby & The Weeknd)” West capitalizes on The Weeknd’s intoxicating falsetto for the hook. This draws listeners into West’s verse; storying his progression from college dropout (also the title of West’s debut studio album) to lecturer at Yale. 

Jay Electronica shines most in Donda–perhaps even more than West. The acclaimed New Orleans artist known for A Written Testimony displays exceptional lyricism on “Jesus Lord”: “Earthquakes will strike this nation for what Bush did to Rwanda (Facts) / What the Clintons did to Haiti, and Downing Street did to Ghana (Jesus) / In Tenochtitlan, they call me Terremoto, El Negro Loco (Lord) / I shake the tectonic plates of the game if I lay one vocal.” 

Jay-Z is similarly solid on “Jail” where longtime collaborator and West reunite. Jay-Z’s verse is wittily defensive, rapping “You are not in control of my thesis / You already know what I think ’bout think pieces / Before you ask, he already told you who he think he is.” These lyrics hit home. The sheer volume of ‘think pieces’ generated just from the Donda controversy alone illustrate the constant critique of West’s character–and those near him.
“Off The Grid,” “Ok Ok,” and “Junya,” are where SoundCloud rapper Playboi Carti and Fivio Foreign–known for his heavy-hitting drill flow–offer radio playability. Each hit the Billboard charts almost instantaneously. West also includes spoken-word in “Donda,” as a nod to his late mother’s profession as an English professor and haunting vocals from his Sunday Service choir in aptly titled: “Sunday Service.” 

Still, Donda falls short compared to his recent works, Ye and Jesus is King, where West has significantly more verses per song. Donda has 20 whopping features and leans on others even more than feature-heavy My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. While it’s clear that West’s disjointed album is intentionally reflective of West himself, this self-awareness gets lost in the noise and backlash surrounding Donda. Ultimately, Donda failed to achieve its main objective: to highlight the importance and legacy of Donda West. 

This piece also appears in our 2021 print edition.