T
he eccentric rap icon Kanye West returns yet again with another mindblowing yet controversial event for his highly anticipated new album Donda, which takes its name from his late mother. Kanye has finally lifted the veil, both figuratively and literally, on his new album with a final live performance at Chicago’s Soldier Field attended by 38,000 people, after two prior listening events at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Following a slow build-up that began last July, hype began to snowball in recent months and the spectacle was a definite hit with fans and Twitter onlookers alike. Unfortunately, snow melts and the Donda event wasn’t short of heat... From the social media ‘wildfire’ sparked by guest appearances from Marilyn Manson, who has been facing very public allegations of sexual assault, and DaBaby, who recently made homophobic comments at a show, being exceptionally candid about the HIV/AIDS viruses. To a recreation of Kanye’s childhood home, set alight. With him inside of it. In the words of Ye’s former brother-in-law Travis Scott, who also appears on the album, “It’s lit.” It should also be said that the Donda event showcased a variety of well-known talents with artists such as Travis Scott, Shenseea, Don Toliver, Westside Gunn and Rooga. The array of artists Entertainment
Donda Album Artwork joined Kanye on the porch of his replica house for the duration of the show, all coming out of the house on-by-one as Kanye cycled through the Donda tracks. Keen-eared listeners will also have noticed other wellknown names like Jay-Z, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, The Weeknd and the late Pop Smoke. It might be safe to say that the open sky above Chicago’s Soldier Field surely has less stars in it than the Donda features list. Social media also erupted when Kanye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian appeared in replica of her wedding dress, worn at the Kardashian-West union in 2014. Unsurprisingly, fans have been quick to jump to conclusions about the pair’s reunion. However, it looks likely that the ‘marriage’ from the show was just a performance. Kanye’s Christianity plays a significant role in his work and has been consistently incorporated into his past albums and shows. Donda is no exception; the album itself has a real gospel tone
with track names including Praise God, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Lord and Lord I Need You. As with most of Kanye’s albums we get another view into his mind and dare we say genius? He has managed to, once again, produce an album with zero skippers and, as amazing as Kanye is by himself, the additional voices on the album most certainly add to the spectacle. Kanye’s faith was also displayed quite spectacularly at the last Donda event when Kanye ended the show with not only a recreation of his marriage but also, with the help of some wires, he levitated into a large beam of light, a pretty big flex in conjunction with the happy if we’re being honest. Whether or not aliens were involved is still up for debate. A wild show full of Kanyeisms and an overwhelming theme of faith and self-realisation, the Chicago Donda event was far from short of confusing yet powerful displays from Kanye’s eccentric mind. It has been a frustrating timeline for the album with release dates being pushed back and Ye turning up late to his own events. However, the music was certainly worth the wait, and it can’t have been too breezy trying to release a 27-track album during a worldwide pandemic. Regardless, we’re just glad it’s finally here for us all to listen to. But probably not understand fully. 27