Donda
by Kanye West
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3155 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,070 out of 3155
  2. Mixed: 161 out of 3155
  3. Negative: 924 out of 3155
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  1. Samruddhikeni
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    nothing new, same old same old, one would even call it 'boring', disappointing, to say the least
    even kim had to listen to this album on mute
  2. AshF87
    Aug 30, 2021
    6
    So this is coming from someone that loves Kanye but more so Kanye 2004-2010. Ever since then the albums have been downhill for me with only a few good songs on them (whereas previously it was almost every song on each album). Like other recent albums from Ye, only a few tracks on here are good, the following is a list of songs I enjoyed and will continue to listen to:
    Hurricane Heaven and    So this is coming from someone that loves Kanye but more so Kanye 2004-2010. Ever since then the albums have been downhill for me with only a few good songs on them (whereas previously it was almost every song on each album). Like other recent albums from Ye, only a few tracks on here are good, the following is a list of songs I enjoyed and will continue to listen to:
    Hurricane Heaven and Hell
    Believe What I Say
    Jonah
    Keep My Spirit Alive
    Aside from these I found the other tracks to be over produced and boring or un-relatable.    … Expand
  3. musikman91307
    Aug 30, 2021
    6
    It has its moments with songs like Jesus Lord, God Breathed & Moon but ultimately it's too long, feature-heavy, and unfocused. Donda deserved better than this.
  4. Ironic
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    People are really mad for some reason that this album is 27 songs long.
    bro just skip them.
    screw this di** swinging contest let the kids hear the music.-ye
  5. DigNickBigga
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    This album's **** and a **** fever dream, as an example, on Remote Control adding Globgobgabgalab in the end, **** album.
  6. little_
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    Perfeito, os críticos estão forçando mas não adianta, só tá dando mais hype pro álbum bjs
  7. rmataylor31
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    Great album, well done Mr. West. I really liked Donda and hate the independent for rating it 0 :(
  8. Emilia0610
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    Works with sexual abusers and homophobes. Shames other people for his misfortunes and behaves like a spoilt child
  9. cg11t
    Aug 30, 2021
    9
    Kanye experiments with the sound of ambient music, which is new to his repertoire. He brings his usual knack for full album storytelling to the death, mourning, and acceptance of his mother's death. It is without a doubt that this album will grow and the meanings behind some of the decisions will become more evident over time. Some of Kanye's best qualities are on full display. Some ofKanye experiments with the sound of ambient music, which is new to his repertoire. He brings his usual knack for full album storytelling to the death, mourning, and acceptance of his mother's death. It is without a doubt that this album will grow and the meanings behind some of the decisions will become more evident over time. Some of Kanye's best qualities are on full display. Some of these being great production, clever and sometimes funny wordplay, and getting the absolute best out of his feature artists. Kanye gets very personal, emotional, and vulnerable. He also gets many of his features to do the same. He finally delivers some songs that fans have known about and anticipated for a year and sometimes more.

    Like many of the more recent Kanye albums, he can be often sporadic and all over the place. But that is who he is. That is the Kanye West of today and it is authentic. Some of the production, while sounding good, can be a bit rough around the edges. This has been a staple of Kanye's more recent work as well. I feel in a way, this album is the culmination of the Yeezy era we have been seeing starting with The Life of Pablo. It is a very long album, clocking in at an hour and 48 minutes if you include the four alternate versions of songs on the album. While it is very long, I wouldn't say there are really any songs worth skipping apart from Tell the Vision which is essentially an interlude. The choice to make the whole album censored is something that may change in the future but isn't surprising from Mr. West. It is a bit strange that he wouldn't have his features and himself rerecord new lines so the censorship isn't as noticeable. It doesn't ruin any of the songs, except Tell the Vision which was already a skippable track. I would prefer an uncensored version in the future.

    My personal favorite quality of the album is the soundscape and setting of the album. This is reflected in the listening parties with different scopes. Much of this album is undertoned by the sound of organs in the background. This gives the feeling of being in a void or desolate place. In the first listening party, Kanye walked around a desolate stage with nothing in "his world" so to speak. In the second listening party, he is enclosed in a single room surrounded by blackness and sometimes faceless people. In the third, he is back at his childhood home, but it is taken from its original spot and once again placed in the middle of a barren wasteland. he is now surrounded by people from his past life. Sinners, covered in black as well as Kanye.

    My only complaints are that, while no individual song is skip-worthy, it can be daunting to listen to the whole thing in one listen. Because of its length, this will be an album that people will either love or hate. Overall, there are also songs for people looking for different things. For people looking for upbeat bangers, there is Praise God, Junya, Heaven and Hell, Pure Souls, Jail, and the incredible Off the Grid. For people looking for more somber or chill songs, there is Hurricane, Jonah, Believe What I Say, 24, and No Child Left Behind. If you just want to cry, then there is Moon, Jesus Lord, Lord I Need You, and Come to Life. In a few years, this album will be remembered as a classic in true Kanye West fashion.    … Expand
  10. Alexxp27
    Aug 30, 2021
    9
    Great album it was released without kanyes permission so obviously not fully finished, but with like the life of Pablo he can continue to improve the album
  11. BRssmateus
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    Although the disclosure process is complicated kanye west style I see excellent stuff in DONDA.
    you can make multiors to give zero at will.
  12. Fra101
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    It's such a boring album! That's all, just boring, nothing special. Sorry...
  13. clbdraking
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    Just a copy and paste. Kanye makes an attempt at shoking people by involving abusers. A whack attempt at a "power move" that doesn't save this album from it's terrible quality.
  14. Rauljiemenz
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This the best album This the best album
    This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album
    This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album
    This the best album This the best album This the best album This the best album    … Expand
  15. rocnado
    Aug 29, 2021
    6
    To me, every song gives off the same vibe. There are no “oh damn” stand out moments. It feels like I could drop any 10 songs on the album and not be butt hurt. A couple of the songs are worth adding to your “go to playlist” but I wouldn’t pick any of the best songs on this album over any of the decent songs on his other albums. I don’t think time will save this album either, mostly becauseTo me, every song gives off the same vibe. There are no “oh damn” stand out moments. It feels like I could drop any 10 songs on the album and not be butt hurt. A couple of the songs are worth adding to your “go to playlist” but I wouldn’t pick any of the best songs on this album over any of the decent songs on his other albums. I don’t think time will save this album either, mostly because the beats sound like mash ups of his other albums, and less like brand new sounding beats like 808s or yeezus. Overall the album feels like he threw everything at the wall to see what sticks, half the songs have collectively created a puddle on the floor. And to all those babies giving the album either a 0 or a 10, grow up.… Expand
  16. PV3103
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    His best work in years, incorporating elements not only from his past works but also those of current music trends, to create an incredible and highly memorable project
  17. Tpitts987
    Aug 30, 2021
    9
    Donda is a culmination of various Kanye styles: JIK, TLOP, and yeezus. It is not his old school style of MBDTF that many will swear by as the only good version of Kanye. However a new style of music must be evaluated separately. This music cannot be reviewed solely on depth of lyrics or strength of production. One must listen to the track without any prejudice and take it all in. WithDonda is a culmination of various Kanye styles: JIK, TLOP, and yeezus. It is not his old school style of MBDTF that many will swear by as the only good version of Kanye. However a new style of music must be evaluated separately. This music cannot be reviewed solely on depth of lyrics or strength of production. One must listen to the track without any prejudice and take it all in. With this in mind there are many tracks including come to life, no child left behind, moon, and 24 that have left me at a loss of words simply by the movement of the music and melodies. Some would call hurricane, junya pt. 2, remote control, and new again repetitive but after a few listen one can realize that the reason for the chorus is so that the listeners can easily catch on and shout the lyrics. The all around category include songs such as jail, Jesus lord pt. 2, pure souls, keep my spirit alive, lord I need you, off the grid, and praise God hold replay ability and are songs for most settings and also include lyrics that makes one think on one verse for the rest of the song. The only reason this is a nine and not a 10 we’re the oddly placed percussion on many of the songs. Basic kick bases that don’t add much to the song or a lack of classical drums that would add greatly to the atmosphere of some songs. Also it would’ve been a little more complete if there was at least one song that relied heavily on lyrics where Kanye thought out a vision for the song and took a lot of time writing introspective lyrics. However, the overall “vibe” or atmosphere of the album is one that I continue to listen to over and over again.… Expand
  18. DjRober55
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    Kanye reinventándose, sabe hacer una armonía de sonidos entre el estilo urbano moderno y góspel.
  19. joyrd23
    Aug 30, 2021
    7
    This album is what would happen if Yeezus had a baby with Jesus is King...Yeezus is King

    Even if the album feels oversaturated at times with it's bonus tracks and songs which haven't reached their full potential, the musical "genius" is ​undeniably present and this album has many tracks which are objectively top 5 tier kanye. However, there's one thing that is not oversaturated on this    This album is what would happen if Yeezus had a baby with Jesus is King...Yeezus is King

    Even if the album feels oversaturated at times with it's bonus tracks and songs which haven't reached their full potential, the musical "genius" is ​undeniably present and this album has many tracks which are objectively top 5 tier kanye.

    However, there's one thing that is not oversaturated on this album, and those are the features. Fivio Foreign might have given the best verse of his career on "Off the Grid", and even kanye stepped up too, delivering his best verses in years.

    Coming back to it's musical aspect, the album's mixing doesn't seem to be that great, showing the illusion of a rushed album, which this album is certainly not in terms of its sound, even if the album doesn't have a realized theme of what it wants to be in terms of track listing and (in)consistent musical themes

    While it may not be MBDTF or College trilogy levels of greatness, DONDA proves Kanye is here to stay however controversial he may be in the public eye.    … Expand
  20. arturfrankocean
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    kanye mais uma vez acertou. esse álbum é incrível!!!
    >jail
    >pure souls
    >come to life
    >moon
  21. Raju_innocentxv
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am a biggest fan of ye and after multiple listenings i have realised this is my fav ye album ! Every song has a purpose, new sound , oustanding musacility! BIASED CRITICS CANT SPOIL A MASTERPIECE !… Expand
  22. joshualagunasss
    Aug 30, 2021
    9
    Ye realmente ha viajado al año 3021 para producir este álbum y regresó al presente para lanzarlo. Una obra de arte de inicio a fin. Considero que, a pesar de lo largo del álbum, West nos dio realmente todo lo que buscaba expresar. Definitivamente van con MBDTF y TLOP como mi sagrada trinidad kanyista.
  23. marloncastro
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    Kanye West supports rape-accused and homophobic artists who talk s*** about HIV. Enough said.
  24. Frafenty
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    When you want to give too much you combine a mistake shshsgsgsgsgsgsggssggsgsgsgsgshd
  25. AdamCrum
    Aug 30, 2021
    0
    Ye’s most boring album yet! Listened to it a few times now to try to find any redeeming quality, but can’t.
  26. irobot04
    Aug 29, 2021
    10
    A sprawling epic of an album. It offers a lot of excellent tracks. This is Ye’s best album since MBDTF.
  27. dabari
    Aug 30, 2021
    8
    Pretty great album. Should have been shorter, I'd peak something like 20 tracks.
  28. Znoffy
    Aug 30, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I believed that a great album would come. However, nothing surprised with the decline of production and composition. Improve :)… Expand
  29. rocketbih88
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    I think people are too quick to judge this album. The more you listen to it, the better it gets. There really isn’t a single song I would skip, I liked the production on this piece.

    This album was what Jesus is King was supposed to be. This is Kanye outlining his thoughts about this stage of his life and how he returned to religion to get closer to his Mom again. Jesus Lord is a great    I think people are too quick to judge this album. The more you listen to it, the better it gets. There really isn’t a single song I would skip, I liked the production on this piece.

    This album was what Jesus is King was supposed to be. This is Kanye outlining his thoughts about this stage of his life and how he returned to religion to get closer to his Mom again. Jesus Lord is a great storytelling piece. I think the reception will be similar to Yeezus in the way that it was polarizing, but is a soon-to-be cult classic. There are a lot of tracks on this album but each one has a unique flair to it. Kanye himself is very polarizing, but you can separate the art from the artist himself. If that’s what you need to do to enjoy this album, do so.    … Expand
  30. SamJJ69
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    With all of the uncertainty in features and versions over the last few weeks. The final version, although I personally prefer some other versions of specific songs, has broken through my expectations! Incredible music again
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Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Most Discussed Album of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. musicOMH.com
    Sep 3, 2021
    60
    Though this isn’t a complete comeback, frustrated Kanye fans certainly have more grounds for optimism after this record than they did before it.
    Read full review
  2. AllMusic
    Sep 2, 2021
    60
    Donda isn't without its highlights, but taken as a whole, it's both confused and confusing.
    Read full review
  3. HipHopDX
    Sep 2, 2021
    62
    There are times where Kanye recaptures the magic of his golden years. ... But there just isn’t enough good here to look past the flaws. The final result is a collection of songs with little binding energy other than a vague Gospel through line, which runs across the tracklist — chaotic like The Life Of Pablo but devoid of the magic.
    Read full review
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