Dondas messaging clashes as much as its music.
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Donda had just earned a doctorate in English education and wanted to teach at Chicago State University.
I could write my own ticket.
I would give Kanye the world if I could, Donda wrote.
But I guess I did the next best thing I exposed him to the world.
She was just 58.
The memory of his mother lives on through Kanye Wests thoughts and creative endeavors.
Soaring in the sky on angels wings, Donda raced toward idyllic scenes above the clouds.
Would he rather be putting on biblical-themed operas now, producing puffer jackets and geodesic domes?
Two weeks later,another listening at Soldier Field in Chicagodelivered even more songs and guests.
Someone is bound to half-ass it.
In 2010,My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasywas revealed in a campaign of weekly song drops, Kanyes G.O.O.D.
Fridays, a charm offensive designed to restore cultural cachet after his 2009 VMAs outburst.
Notably, Kanye has not spoken at length on-camera since then.
Hes letting audiovisual spectacles do all the talking.
Hes meditating on chapters from his backstory.
WouldDondarecount the West family history?
Does Kanye use the pressure of deadlines to make diamonds?
Is this all part of his plan?
Is there ever a plan?
Dondaleaves large questions about Kanyes life and art unanswered.
You would think it would be the big divorce album, but that comes up sparingly.
Elsewhere, Christian platitudes sit strangely beside boasts about extravagant spending.
Kanye is a modern man, which means hes conflicted.
He doesnt want to seem pressed until he wants your sympathy.
Hes individualistic; he really wants to fit in.
He jokes about all the rappers who sound like him and later borrows flows from 20-somethings.
Guests carryDondalike Christ did the protagonist of the famous poem Footsteps.
Once, Kanye showed young creatives that they mattered.
Now, influencers he influenced are influencing him.
Dre never rushed a job, though, and he knew to entrust tricky flows to the right pen.
This albums full of bad one-liners, dry youth-group humor.
There are too many dodgy bars.
It detracts from the gravity of this moment.
There is chaff choking out the wheat.
(The leaps in quality between the July-August stadium gigs seem to be testament to that.)
You dont make a billion being mirthful and accommodating.
Do you remember when Kanye made a big fuss about giving his artists their masters back last year?
Whats the latest there?)
Jonah, with Chicago drill vet Lil Durk and Houston singer Vory, is breathtaking and gorgeous.
It is strange to witness him following anything resembling a trend.
The relative absence of women on the guest list is a misstep.
Whatever the case,Dondas messaging clashes as much as its music.
And theres no rule that says an album has to have a unified narrative voice.
Its possible to make great music exploring your private contradictions.
Arguably, this is the core theme of every Kanye album at least sinceFantasy.
They were conflicted, but they were great.
Wests is all over the place.
Donda achieved and expected greatness.
In her name, excellence was required.
Here, were left with sporadic, troubled, combative brilliance instead.
This doesnt feel like its just a phase anymore.
