Kanye West recently released his very anticipated album titled Donda, but was it worth all the hype?

Kanye West finally released Donda after months of buildup on August 29. This came almost two years after his last album titled Jesus is King which, according to most fans, was a let down. This made the anticipation for Donda even stronger. The album was somewhat of a surprise because it was released at 8:00am which is not typical as most albums are released at midnight.

More anticipation was created from the public listening parties that Kanye hosted. In total Kanye hosted three different listening parties, all at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. At each of these listening parties Kanye previewed different songs on the album and invited many of his different features to perform as well.

The album consists of twenty-seven songs and lasts for a total of one hour and forty-eight minutes. Kanye had approximately twenty-one features on this album, but did not list them. The album is named after Kanye’s late mother, who died on November 10, 2007 due to a preexisting heart disease. The first song on the album, titled Donda Chant, signifies the pattern on Kanye’s mother’s last heartbeats. The song also repeats the name, Donda, 58 times, which is the age of Kanye’s mother when she died.

This album is a lot less about the actual catchiness of the individual songs, but more the story of the album and the artistic value of the music. For this reason, I believe impatient listeners may not have enjoyed the album as much. Although, the album seems to be well received by fans so far.

The top song on the album today, according to billboard.com is Off The Grid, with features from Playboi Carti and Fivio Foreign, who are two big names in music currently. Kanye’s verse on this album has been well received by fans as many say that it sounds like “old Kanye”. The second most popular song so far, according to billboard.com is Hurricane with features from The Weeknd and Lil Baby, who are also huge names in the industry currently. 

Many students from Timberlane Regional High School seem to enjoy the album. Bradley Viagers said that he enjoyed Donda,and said it was better than popular rap artist Drake’s latest album, titled Certified Lover Boy. 

Overall I believe this album was very good, many of the songs seemed personal and meaningful to Kanye. I enjoyed the tone of the album and many of the individual songs. One critique I have on the album is that some of the songs were a little bit on the boring side. Other than that, I thought the album was almost perfect, and another great addition to the discography of Kanye West.