Review Summary: One less sparkle to follow in my light
Well, it’s finally here. After a year of hellish hype and build up, cancelled releases, drama and listening parties that saw Kanye ascend to the heavens and set himself on fire, Donda has finally arrived on streaming services, entirely black cover and all. It’s fair to say that the previous 5 or so years have been turbulent for Kanye fans and his latest album cycle has been no exception. Donda has become an almost mythical release and its sudden and surprise release on a Sunday (against Kanye’s wishes) was only another nail in the already beaten up and damaged coffin. Regardless, we have the finished product here, in all its 27 track, near 2 hour glory. Praise God.
With his re-devotion to Christ, Kanye made it absolutely clear that he would no longer performer secular music ever again. His previous album, the under cooked and highly divisive ‘Jesus Is King’, saw Kanye praising the lord and backed by a choir of vocalists dubbed the Sunday Service Choir. It appears he’s allowed some leeway though as a good chunk of the album’s themes have shifted elsewhere. Mental illness, black on black crime, redemption, the breakdown of his marriage to Kim Kardashian and of course Jesus. The album’s army of vocalists which includes big names such as The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi and a surprise and touching reunion with Jay-Z along with appearances by Playboi Carti, Baby Keem and Roddy Rich take up a bulk of the record (there’s more guest vocals on the album than Kanye vocals), with Fivio Foreign and Jay Electronica delivering stand out verses on ‘Off the Grid’ and ‘Jesus Lord’ respectively. The swarm of guests bringing their own style and flavour to nearly ever track are all grounded by one overshadowing figure, that of Donda West herself, Kanye’s late mother. With her death in late 2007, Kanye was irreversibly changed and with the rock that kept his emotions and ego in check gone, he continued on a destructive downward spiral that he may never truly recover from. Her voice and name complements various songs on the album, be it an entire track devoted entirely to Syleena Johnson repeating her name over and over again (the opening ‘Donda Chant’) to Kanye cutting up segments of a speech she delivered to complement the vocals on ‘Praise God’. An entire track, simply titled ‘Donda’ features Kanye crooning “forever” and “glory” over a chilling piano instrumental while a recording of Dr West introducing herself as “her son’s mother” plays over both (interestingly an entire set of verses featuring Pusha T, heard in listening parties was removed entirely, and a similar gut wrenching song dubbed ‘Never Abandon Your Family’ which features a similar structure to this track though with much more personal and pained lyrics was cut all together).
‘Donda’ is a painful record at times, and when Kanye isn’t rapping about Junya Watanabe on his wrist, or the healing power of God, he is reflecting on the loss of the two most important women in his life. His mother and his wife. Despite the sunny vibes and disco-pop feel of the Ms Lauryn Hill sampling standout ‘Believe What I Say’, Kanye pens a darkly comic tale of his marriage imploding while guest vocalist Buju Banton delivers a spoken word interlude which is both a passive aggressive jab at an ex and a decided “*** you” to the world. On the near 9 minute epic ‘Jesus Lord’, Kanye wields what might be his finest ever verse as he recounts the death of his mother, questions that if he died right now would he ever get to see her again in the afterlife and then goes on to describe the cycle of violence and hatred in poor black neighbourhoods, topped off with an excellent Jay Electronica verse and a spoken word recording of Larry Hoover Jr, son of imprisoned Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover Sr, thanking Kanye for bringing the fight to free his father to the White House and the suffering that the Prison-Industrial Complex has brought upon his family and those around him. It’s the record’s centrepiece and arguably one of the best songs Kanye has ever put out. It still isn’t all doom and gloom, more bittersweet than anything, as evident by the colossal stadium rock opener ‘Jail’ which features Kanye, Frances and the Lights and the Sunday Service Choir hollering “guess who’s going to jail tonight” over massive distorted guitars before Jay-Z lays down a verse teasing the return of the Throne. It’s a cathartic moment, albeit one which ironically comes at the start of the album, before the misery and paranoia sets in. Elsewhere, The Weeknd and Lil’ Baby featuring ‘Hurricane’, a fan favourite unreleased cut delivers a twitchy trap beat over a huge organ led chorus. “Finally, I’m free” sings Abel in the chorus. Kid Cudi and Don Toliver deliver a beautiful and haunting semi reprise of that tune on the woozy and heartbreaking interlude ‘Moon’ as Scott croons his heart out about fond memories and tough times over a gentle reverb drenched guitar part. As the album nears its conclusion, the record hits a sort of stride with the final three songs, the triumphant ‘Pure Souls’, the delicate and beautiful ‘Come to Life’ which features immaculate piano parts and some of Kanye’s best singing and the final heavenly ascent of ‘No Child Left Behind’. “He’s done miracles on me” Kanye sings over a light organ backing as the record abruptly ends.
But that’s not entirely it. Donda still has four tracks to go. These bonus tracks, alternate versions of songs previously on the album, are fairly unneeded, as they’re basically identical to the songs on the album except they feature new verses by additional guest features. While the version of ‘Junya’ which adds to Ty Dolla $ign to the mix, ‘OK OK’ which replaces Lil Yachty and Rooga with Shenseea and the now 12 minute ‘Jesus Lord’ which adds additional verses by Sheek Louch, Jadakiss and Styles P are the superior versions of their respective songs, the addition of a remix of ‘Jail’ which features the, shall we say rather controversial addition of DaBaby and Marilyn Manson, to the mix, is an unusual choice to say the least, and the addition of these songs to the album, while a nice addition, serves to bloat the album’s already titanic length.
It is worth noting the filler while we’re at it. While the rather random sequencing is one thing, the occasional middle of the road song doesn’t do the album favours. While hidden gems like the aggressive ‘Heaven and Hell’, the touching ‘Keep My Spirit Alive’ and the synthwave/gospel tinged ‘New Again’ are buried amongst the flurry of other tracks, lesser tunes like the so-so ‘OK OK’ and the bizarre, brief and horrifically mixed Pop Smoke tribute (RIP) ‘Tell the Vision’ seem like hangers on to the bigger picture. As it is, Donda is a bit of a legendary trainwreck. But the sparkles of pure brilliance here somehow work well amidst the insanity on display. It’s lengthy, sprawling, chaotic and at times a downright tiring album in desperate need of a filter and some Xanax. Really, it’s the most Kanye album Kanye has ever Kanye’d. Good job.
4/5
Standout tracks: Jail, Off the Grid, Hurricane, Praise God, Believe What I Say, Moon, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Lord (both parts), New Again, Pure Souls, Come to Life
Skips: God Breathed, OK OK, Tell the Vision
