Next is Jay Electronica who comes out as a combination of spirituality and hip hop skill. Like you are getting insight into his soul. This is the rare time when Kanye seems genuine. His rhymes hit so hard, because of the emotion and feeling behind them. Moreover, he talks about how he hopes to see Christ in order to see his own mother, which Donda is named after. Verses on mothers dying, boys looking to kill men for revenge, dead black men and women using drugs to feel love are some of the darkest lines he has put out in a long time. Kanye raps about suicide, poverty, brutality towards black men, trauma, religion and families torn apart by death / social ills. Such a restrained electronic palate allows the lyrics to come to the front. Kanye does away with his wall of sound production and relies on a simple beat, organ and some heavily tweaked backing vocals on a loop. This audio kaleidoscope clicks into place like Tetris once you sit back and listen. Finally, he includes some spoken word from Larry Hoover’s (founder of the Gangster Disciples) son. Next, this is an eight plus minute epic that is almost three tracks. Jay took over 10 years to put out his own debut record and now he is teaming up with Kanye on a record that I thought would never see the light of day. First off, it features Jay Electronica, which for many hip hop nerds feels like you’ve seen a comet. The track Jesus Lord is a great example of the record as a whole. However, within the 20 plus tracks there are a handful that are some of the best work Kanye has put out in almost 11 years. I mean, Axl Rose would even blush at this vanity project and he put out Chinese Democracy. Don’t get me wrong, the record and all the Donda media / listening parties are extraordinarily self – indulgent. However, the gems in this desert of self – indulgent sand are so amazing and moving that it makes up for metric tons of filler. If you think this would lead to a bloated and disorganised record…you’re right. Kanye brings on Jay – Z, The Weeknd, Young Thug, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Travis Scott and Ty Dolla $ign just to name a few. The album we thought would never happen features a guest list so long it is easier to think of who is not on the record. I have to admit, reviewing Donda is like reviewing a unicorn from Mars…should I review it or just be in awe of its mere existence. Kanye West can get a bit much and Donda is the biggest vanity project in history, but Jesus Lord is mesmerising.
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