If Donda is the longest and densest album of his discography, it is also surely the one where he is the most in the background. When Kanye reaches this stage, he could do anything that we would cry genius. Everything is meticulously worked, accomplished, respecting this surreal balance between the conscious and the unconscious. On the contrary, Donda is a comeback, as if Kanye had found the magic formula. Jesus Is King doesn't work because it is both sloppy and too watered down. On the other hand, it is impossible to compare Donda to Jesus Is King, just because they are mainly religious albums. Let's remember that Ye was supposed to be the pioneer of a new album format according to the author and that it has to be said that it was a failure, since nobody really incorporated this tendency in his creative process. Not to mention the fact that Kanye would have totally reworked Ye according to TMZ.
If Ye brings a stylistic renewal, the whole lacks of achievement because Kanye needs much more space to express himself and the format did not allow it. First of all, Ye the first mistake in the middle of a controversy. Yet I still remain hungry when I think about the previous Ye / Jesus is King, because this is the first time I was disappointed with him. So far, nothing very surprising when you think about it since Kanye has always excelled in this field. The atmosphere and the nomenclature are the elements that explain why, despite the winks, Donda sounds like no other album, since its soul is so special. Donda gives the impression of being played in a cathedral. Musically Donda offers a cathartic, mystical, dark and deeply powerful orchestration and interpretation where we find all the particularities of Christian music. The innovative nuances of this new album are mostly found in the way the album tends towards religion. Donda is ultimately the least innovative album in Kanye's repertoire, although everything is relative and deliberate. I will elaborate on this point in the song by song analysis. Of course, Kanye is not satisfied with making a simple retrospective copy, but there is always this notion of memory mixed with the present. It is for this reason that I support the fact that Donda is a tribute to the author, to his journey since the trauma of his life. Kanye incorporates all of the musical styles he has established since his mother's death, from the Graduation album to Jesus Is King. One of the first highlights of this new opus is the stylistic cocktail that is incorporated on a distinct and innovative backbone. Kanye wanted to prove to the world, and to himself that he was able to make this giant mass, a hymn to the glory of God and therefore of life in a sense.
That's why Donda is full of winks, references and love. Donda is also a tribute to his faith, his community, his passion, to Hip Hop as if this 10th anniversary sounded like a celebration of life. Since Kanye became Kanye, a broken man, half genius half enlightened, ready to fall into the traps as if it were fate. As if life had offered him his dream, but in exchange for a tragic sacrifice. Donda offers a fresh look at the evolution and impact of the world star who was orphaned at his peak. Until now, Kanye had never really been able to recover from this tragedy. That is to say in a few words that Donda summarizes according to me the whole personal period of Kanye as a kind of autobiography, from the disappearance of his mother until today. If without great surprise, Donda is first of all a tribute to his late mother who died tragically years ago, this 10th solo album sounds especially like a tribute to himself. If the grandiloquent aspect is almost a logic for its author, this one has a particular taste, where homage and spirituality are mixed for which devotion is absolute. For a moment, everything is frozen on the outside, while the show resounds with a thousand fires in the heart of the action. Braving all the excesses, Kanye is probably one of the only personalities able to create a sub world through his universe. The media air is his hunting ground, where no mercy is recognized. Like any megalomaniac, Kanye has an ogre's appetite, ready to crush his prey. On the contrary, its author feeds on the phenomenon to make everything sound like something great. The arrival of a new album of Kanye is always the subject of a media tsunami, this one was of course no exception. Donda's adventure is an eclectic one where faith and worldview are confronted through deeply emotional soundscapes. Unlike his recent misguidance, Kanye reaches out, reflects and takes responsibility. On Donda, Kanye West finds the right way through a giant mass where the whole Hip Hop scene is invited.