Kanye West's new album, Donda, is being met with mixed reviews as the Keeping Up With The Kardashians alum works to secure the number-one spot against Drake's new album, Certified Lover Boy. Despite the heavy promotion and build-up ahead of Kanye's highly-anticipated album, Donda just isn't getting the response that the rapper and fashion mogul expected. Kanye has spent more than a decade dominating the music charts and solidifying himself as one of the greatest names in hip hop and fashion. But despite his success, his antics have led to a drastic decline in the fanfare surrounding his work.
There wasn't much to anticipate when Donda was released over the weekend after Kanye teased the album through a series of massive listening parties across the country. After appearing in two listening events in Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium, Kanye hosted a third and final listening party in Chicago's Soldier Field. Each event introduced a new arrangement of the album's tracklist but played the same songs with just new variations. A verse might've been added or removed, but by the third listening party, most of what ended up on the album had already been heard. Despite upsetting fans with appearances by Marilyn Manson and DaBaby at the third listening event, Kanye released the album with an expectation of it performing well.
Alas, a recent Rolling Stone review gave 2 out of 5 stars to Donda, all while blasting Kanye for curating a "haphazard execution that is only occasionally affecting." Despite the album's first track including a feature of Kanye's longtime music collaborator and friend Jay-Z, the reviewer claimed the song had "one of the worst Jay-Z verses that have ever been released." The album was also ripped to shreds by the LA Times, which reviewed Donda as reeking "of desperation on dispiriting, exhausting." The review went on to drag Kanye for his album release following his failed presidential bid and public divorce from his superstar ex-wife Kim Kardashian. The KUWTK star made a surprise appearance during Kanye's third listening party and came out wearing a white wedding gown for a short reenactment of their wedding day.
Kanye smiled at Kim as the estranged couple sent fans into a frenzy thinking that this lastest move was a hint at their reconciliation. However, shortly after the event, sources claimed that Kanye was only trying to fuel dating rumors to help the success of his album release. Now, it looks like not even Kim could help Kanye recover from the damage he did all on his own. He's still under fire for including Marilyn Manson and DaBaby at his listening party considering their controversial ties to scandals of sexual assault and homophobia. Kanye is known for using controversy to help propel his name in the press. But after 10 albums, the reviews of his music are only getting worse.
The latest conversation around his album stems from the track "Hurricane", where Kanye seemingly reveals that he cheated on Kim after the birth of their second child. While the KUWTK cheating rumors might be true, they also point to the notion of Kanye fueling reports around his marriage to help garner album streams. Kim and her Keeping Up With The Kardashians family all helped to promote Donda on their social media pages. Alas, it's looking like it'll take a lot more to change people's minds on whether or not the album is considered good.
Source: Rolling Stone, LA Times