In the month of August, Kanye West released his 10th studio album 'Donda'. Paying tribute to his late mother, he opened the album with a drumless and airy yet powerful chant.
But did this take listeners by uncomfortable surprise or was this simply a representation of his love and admiration for his mother?
Question is: Is it a Yé or Nay for Kanye's newest album, Donda?
During an interview in 2016, Kanye previously defined himself as a 'creative genius' and shared his thoughts on the outside world calling him anything other than that.
"..When they use the words celebrity, n*gger or rapper it's not in a positive way. So I have to define who I am". - @SHOWstudio
Yay for Ye!
Kanye continuously represents his authentic and empowered self throughout his music and has shown his journey to becoming nothing but a fruitful and positive artist and individual. As for Donda, it has given light to a significant amount of gospel and hip hop, where multiple vocal contributions from several artists have rewarded his unique and influential lyrics.
Kanye's execution of his album has given this project great meaning.
During the time Donda was being recorded, Kanye West paid $1 million per day to live in the belly of the Mercedez Benz Stadium. He relocated into an enclosed room that represented a jail cell.
Considering he has two songs on the album named Jail and Jail pt 2.
Great perspective right?
Nay for Ye?/Cancel culture?
In all realness, Kanye has created songs on the album stemming from emotion, family life, divorce and God. There had been some controversial statements from the artist Dababy and Marilyn Manson prior to the release of Donda, who were featured on jail pt 2. The comments were centred around homophobic views with the addition of a number of lawsuits. Although this may hold a lot of speculation from fans, Kanye had remained with the decision of having both artists demonstrate their contribution to the album.
Is Kanye overlooking the incidents, or is he simply honouring the music talent that surrounds him?
On the other hand, Kanye proceeds to make light of the fact that both artists on the track had been named and shamed for what they had done. He also refers to the fact that they have also been 'cancelled' by the public in the lyrics ".. priors, priors, do you have any product? Well, that one time, i'll be honest, i'll be honest, we all liars, let it go". And ".. Guess who's getting X'ed ? Like, next. Guess who's getting X'ed". To continue, Kanye also sings "..Guess who's goin' to jail tonight? God gon' post my bail tonight". This reference was made to suggest that God will "post bail" or forgive him.
On the surface, Kanye's noticeable themes within Donda were built around the ways in which his mother and his faith have moulded him. Christianity has been a big part in the creation of his most recent albums and has also seemed to fuel all aspects of his creativity. With that being said, has Kanye managed to entice not only the hip hop market but the gospel market too in hopes to sell out both sides of the audience?
The charts
Donda has landed straight at number #1 on the official UK albums chart, giving other albums a run for their money. Following its digital release, Donda has taken the top spot with 20,000 chart sales. 91% being only streaming equivalent sales and and the remaining 9% being downloads. In total, 33.4 million streams have been made across all 27 tracks.
I think it's safe to say the public have had a great deal of entertainment from Donda and have shown their support despite the mixed reviews. Kanye has shown fans the lengths he will go to prove he is the musical genius he defines himself as. And although some may feel as if his creativity does not always match what we are used to, his vision is aligning with his purpose and thats what matters.
As we sieve through the facts, perspectives and straight up realness of Kanye and his album, is it a Ye or Nay for Kanye's newest album Donda?
Written by Monáe instagram: @Ladymons_