Review Summary: Simulataneously one of the most hilarious and harrowing pop albums released in recent years
Everything about
Donda 2 actively upsets me because of how utterly unpleasant a listening experience it is. Finishing this album made me appreciate
Jesus Is King so much more, though not necessarily for the music. In retrospect,
Jesus Is King is harmless and even wholesome. In sheer contrast,
Donda 2 is drenched in drama and negativity.
The beats throughout
Donda 2 are a rehash of
Ye's generic pop/trap rap sound, marking it as one of Kanye's least creative musical outings. The songwriting is arguably at its worst here as well with songs blurring into one another or outright sounding unfinished. The features across the tracklist, while decent, aren't memorable enough to save the album either. With such lackluster content, it becomes easy to focus on how distractingly bad Kanye's lyrics have gotten.
Anyone familiar with Kanye knows he's got some notoriously bad bars across his discography. Sure, there's occasionally the usual so-bad-it's-post-ironically-iconic bar like "baby, I'm free like a homeless person" on "Broken Road." However, the lyrics across
Donda 2 are often uncharacteristically embarassing or even downright uncomfortable. On "Sci Fi," Kanye raps "when you lay down and I give you the semen, I swear I heard God, the voice of Morgan Freeman'' and it's impossible to not feel intense second-hand embarrassment. The slew of threats aimed at Pete "Skete" Davidson on "Security" is chilling enough to make even an atheist pray for the man's safety. With most "memorable" lines relating to Kanye related drama, one can't help but feel
Donda 2's context renders its already underwhelming music forgettable. For this reason, it's impossible to "separate the art from the artist" and exposes the record's core problem:
Donda 2 is solely compelling for its spectacle and nothing else.
In a way,
Yeezus epitomizes the contrast between the old and new Kanye. Like
Jesus is King and both Dondas,
Yeezus sounds like the aural equivalent to Kanye's manic episodes. What arguably defines
Yeezus isn't so much its left field sound (though that's obviously part of its appeal), but the fact that Kanye clearly focused on making a tight, concise record. This intense attention to detail is what defines old Kanye. On the other hand, “Christian” Kanye has been less focused on the music and more so with extravagant promotion cycles and unnecessary drama. The radio silence leading up to
Yeezus’ release almost 9 years ago seems quaint now.
It probably goes without saying, but this shift in quality and priorities could be connected to Kanye being off his meds. Yes, the immediate and most important consequence of this decision is how badly he's hurt and is currently hurting the people closest to him. However, his music has also clearly suffered as a consequence. He was dead wrong when he said he needs to be off his meds to keep making good music.
Outside looking in,
Donda 2 is hilarious. From the unhinged social media promotion, to the totally botched listening party, to the woefully overpriced Donda stem players, to being more of a Skete dedication than an actual dedication to his mother who gives the record its namesake - everything about
Donda 2 is so absurd you can’t help but laugh. But listening to the album itself reveals there is nothing humorous about Kanye’s situation.
Donda 2 is a harrowing cry for help under the guise of a pop album. This isn't 47 minutes of bangers for the club - this is 47 minutes of Kanye staring into an abyss that has been growing since Donda West passed away 15 years ago. This is Kanye at his most unfiltered and it's compellingly so in all the wrong ways. Kanye has been on a personal and artistic downward spiral that is now symbolized by
Donda 2, the worst album he has released. I hope he gets the help he needs because knowing him this isn't true rock bottom yet.
