Donda by Kanye West
2021 has been a great year for music. From Olivia Rodrgio making her grand entrance into the music industry with her hit Driver's License to Taylor Swift re-recording all her old songs and calling it a new album, the music industry has seen it all this year. One of the most recent album drops that has been nothing less than chaotic is Kanye West’s new album, Donda. Named after West’s late mother, the album consists of 27 songs beginning with the Donda chant which is exactly what it sounds like; the name Donda said over and over. But one thing about this song makes it very special and symbolic to West; the beat that Donda is chanted is mimicking the heartbeat of his late mother on the day she died.
We asked some SDSU students how they felt about West’s new album, Sebastian Ramirez, an international business major with a focus on marketing and western Europe and Spain said he “thought that he (Kanye West) was just pushing most of the songs out with a big feature to get more variety but it didn't sit well. I’d say it was subpar compared to most of his other albums and was worse than his most previous one”. Although Ramirez doesn't seem to be keen on Donda he later said that he can appreciate “Kanye's effort in doing whatever he wants musically” but he would've liked to see more consistent effort in creating the songs and taking advantage of some of the features.
As with most album releases by popular artists there's drama.There were many different sides and components to the drama and issues that arose before the album became public. From West cutting people out of the album to postponing the drop multiple times, SDSU student Eric Vue commented on the drama around this drop stating, “As always I think these drops are lowkey overrated but when an artist has been working on a project like this for a number of years the release is going to be big. When Kanye was picking artists to be on the main album he made cuts, yes, but it was probably for the better. I didn't want Soulja Boy on this album anyways,” Vue said, alluding to the controversial decision West made to cut the artist Souja Boy from the album.
West has created a different vibe and sound around each of his albums. SDSU student Sydeny Digrazia said she thinks that,“The vibe is a little more preachy than his other albums, and it's a different take on the music industry. It has a more historical feeling to it with an African American music background then most popular albums do.”
After listening to an album most people can relate to it in some way or take something away from it. Vue, a sound engineering major who has a passion for music, said that “It is important to enjoy your time and depending on what song you can find a motivational one or a chill vibe.”
This album was nothing short of interesting and exciting, let us know in the comments your favorite song on Donda!
Jenna Harter — October 5th, 2021
