Top 10 Songs on Kanye West’s Donda (LIST)
DONDA is finally here! It’s been 24 hours now. I like the album. I like it enough to review it. But what stopped me is my biggest complaint about the record: it’s just TOO LONG. I’m getting very sick of these bloated projects designed to take advantage of the way artists actually get their payout from streaming services. So instead of a full-on review, I’ll be listing what I feel are the top ten tracks and explaining what makes me love them so much. Scream at me on twitter @plzsaythebento if I left your favorite out. Also, I honestly don’t believe any of these positions on this list are set in stone in their placement for me, with the exception of my #1. And also, I have a lot of nitpicks about this record but these are just that - nitpicks. I don’t hate any of these songs in the slightest. This is a top ten list, and I really like all of these records. But I’m going to be honest. Let’s get this list popping.
10. “Come To Life”
First of all, if the rumors are true then shout out to Tyler, the Creator on the keys. The way this record evolves is incredible. The melodies Kanye hits on this joint are incredible. “I don’t wanna die alone” gave me huge XXXTentacion vibes in the best way possible. We all know Kanye doesn’t have the best singing voice, but that’s always given him in edge when he gets extremely passionate just because of how raw his vocals be sounding. But again the real star here is Tyler, who turns the track into a damn Kingdom Hearts credit scene at about the halfway point. Instrumentally, the record gives me the same energy I got from Kanye’s Vh1 Storytellers back when 808’s dropped. I think he could’ve done with some background vocals or maybe the Sunday Service Choir on this track. But overall, the journey this one takes you on is incredible and it’s a shame it comes so late in the album.
9. “Praise God” (featuring Travis Scott & Baby Keem)
I’m a let you know right now, I’ve got a lot of ideas of what I would’ve loved Ye to do differently on this list. The way this one starts is crazy. This one of the best gospel-inspired beats Kanye has done. Travis’ hoarse falsetto on the intro would’ve made for a crazy hook if it came back but instead Kanye handles hook duties. While Kanye’s hook isn’t whack, that Travis intro is the best part of the whole track aside from “THE DEVIL MY OPP”. And that’s a shame, because this, like many Kanye records, really sets up that last verse from Baby Keem to be incredible. As we’ll see later, Kanye has a knack for a fire beat switch accompanied by the best verse ever spit by whoever the featured artist on it is. This is not one of those times. Keem’s vocal performance is fire, but he goes on way too long with no substance or real punches aside from the 645AR impression on the tail end and the quick autotune on the beginning of his verse. It’s just not as memorable as I’d have liked. If that verse ended up being the Baby Keem showcase it felt like it was meant to be, this would’ve made it a lot higher on the list.
8. “Believe What I Say”
The Lauryn sample is incredible, and then he took us to ‘08 with it. The Graduation/808’s-era dance beat was a very nice touch and compliments the sample more nicely than you’d expect. The bass feels very College Dropout as well. Again, Kanye hits some catchy melodies. I don’t have anything bad to say about this record. I could hear it at family functions if this damn album had dropped earlier in the Summer like we all expected it to. I guess if I gotta nitpick, I’ll say this doesn’t have most memorable lyrics at all and the beat carried it this high on the list. But truthfully if all these tracks were instrumentals, this would be top 3.
7. “Pure Souls” (featuring Roddy Ricch & Shenseea)
RODDY FLOATED ALL OVER THIS JOINT. But it still isn’t quite there. When you compare this to the negro spiritual that is “Ballin’” with Mustard (which is an obvious inspiration for this joint) it just falls a bit flat. The beat doesn’t feel as complete as I would expect a Kanye/Roddy collab to. It got that West Coast bounce that Roddy glides on so effortlessly, and them organs pair very nicely with Roddy’s gospel-esque melodies. But even Roddy himself used gospel choir backgrounds on his own album, so why does he not get that treatment from Kanye who has HIS OWN CHOIR? Like a lot of DONDA, this is a great idea that with a few tweaks could be incredible. I like Shenseea’s outro but it feels like Kanye just tacked it on the end because he wanted to give it a proper send-off. But it goes on far too long and the transition could’ve been smoother. This one just feels underproduced in general and while the bare drums (there’s no more than a kick and clap present) do give it a more down to Earth feeling, it could’ve definitely been expanded upon. This should at least be in the top five based off Roddy’s performance alone. This is still a great record though.
6. Lord I Need You
This is the most heartfelt Kanye sounds to me through this whole album. The intimate feel does wonders for the subject matter even though Kanye back rapping like he was in the 2000’s and hasn’t found autotune yet. Then he starts singing and you can’t help but hope his family sticks together. Then the Wheezy tag??? While it’s not the Metro drop we got on “Father, Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” (nothing ever will be) it’s memorable enough that it actually got stuck in my head more than any of the lyrics until like the third listen. This sounds like a more complete version of what he was trying to give us with Ye, and while it lacks a real hook it still stuck with me without a repeated listen.
5. “Jonah” (featuring Vory & Lil Durk)
This is the best hook on the album that’s not delivered by Kanye himself. Overall, Vory’s contributions to this album are incredible. He has the kind of voice that you beg to hear on a Kanye album. Since MBDTF, whenever I hear a new artist (specifically one with a distinctive voice) I always wonder what they would sound like on the next Kanye record. Vory would’ve been one of those artists had I not been introduced to him on this record, and man what a first impression. I know earlier I spoke of Kanye giving the last verse to the scene stealing feature, but Vory runs this joint completely. I really like the Lil Durk feature as well, especially considering how much Durk has mentioned Kanye in music this past year (here and of course here). I like the Kanye verse too, the consistent internal rhyme scheme is something Kanye rarely attempts. But when it’s all said and done, the way this hook sounds is what I think of when I think of the sound of DONDA. And we’re only on #5.
4. “Ok Ok” (featuring Fivio Foreign, Lil Yachty & JHE Rooga)
I’ll be damned if this one doesn’t bang. I can’t even pick a favorite verse on it. Fivi’s ad libs are unnecessary especially since they’re just on Kanye’s verse, but they don’t take away from the track at all. DONDA as a whole suffers from a lack of drums, but this is the one record that really makes the most out of just an 808. Them garbled synths over it really make this one feel a lot more epic than it ever had any right to since there’s no drop. It’s an extremely hypnotic production, and then Lil Yachty gets some Cudi-esque hums off and sounds like the rapper he always wanted to be. This ain’t the Yachty we met in 2016. This is a real boss. Lyrically, it’s not that different from his usual offerings, and this isn’t the scene-stealing Kanye song verse that most artists try to give, but that’s what makes it so fire. It’s just some smooth trash talk from a rapper who made it from a model in a Kanye fashion show to a real Kanye album. Then JHE Rooga comes in and gives the type of performance I would’ve expected from Durk. I’ve never heard of Rooga before but he came in charged up and injected some energy into the trance that this song is. My one complaint is that Kanye’s vocals on the outro are too raw, just because we’ve heard them with some sharp autotune on it that sounded [chef’s kiss] when it was premiered in Atlanta.
3. “Hurricane” (featuring The Weeknd & Lil Baby)
I’ve had such a love-hate relationship with this record. Clearly I love it. I’ve loved it since the first time it was revealed. But every time I heard this record changed I felt like I should hate it because of that first impression being so strong. Thankfully, the final version comes together nicely. For once, I actually wish Kanye stuck to a more consistent beat. As plain as the drums are, they’re fire. That organ grew on me, as much as I love the synth it was first unveiled with. Abel spazzed of course. I wish he had more choirs backing up like in the listening event, and they are cut off freakishly messy. But overall, it all comes together nicely. My nitpick with this one comes from the fact that Baby went kind of easy on Kanye. The Hero has been on a hell of a feature run, decimating every artist who dares let him on their records. This includes Drake & J. Cole, so seeing him on a track with Kanye West really excited me. Baby more than holds his own but it feels like Kanye’s world just didn’t give Lil Baby the stage he needed. That said, this is #3 for a reason. I still return to this more than almost any record on the album, and I definitely see this as the single. Kanye’s musical genius does not need to be explained. Scene-stealing verse or not.
2. Off The Grid (feat. Playboi Carti & Fivio Foreign)
Speaking of scene stealing verses, THIS. I’ll get to the obvious one last. Playboi Carti was incredible on this. This the best beat on the project, really. Both parts. Carti knew that and did what he does. Them ad libs sound like a baby puking and somehow it’s beautiful. This the best Carti feature since he had feature of the year on Tyler’s “EARFQUAKE”. Kanye was wise to switch the beat after he ended. Kanye liked it so much he hopped on the beat switch himself. Initially, Kanye’s verse didn’t do much for me but now I like it honestly. I just wish it was shorter. There’s definitely some classic Kanye quotables in there. But the reason I didn’t like it at first was because it felt like he was trying to outrap the best feature on the entire album. After premiering DONDA a second time, the internet was ablaze with love for New York’s living king of drill Fivio Foreign (most notably from Fivi’s detractors). The man gets a lot of hate for his simple and unorthodox rhyme patterns, which makes pairing him with Playboi Carti on a track like this just that much more magical. And instead of doing his normal Fivio Foreign thing, he came through hungry and barred up. This is the best Fivio Foreign verse ever. This is the Nicki Minaj “Monster” verse of this album. I’m really excited to see what Kanye does with Fivi now that he’s executive producing his album.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: “Keep My Spirit Alive” (featuring Kaycyy, Westside Gunn & Conway The Machine), “Moon” (featuring Don Toliver & Kid Cudi), “Jesus Lord Pt 2” (featuring Jay Electendrenica & The LOX)
1. “Jail” (featuring JAY Z & Francis & the Lights)
THIS MIGHT BE THE RETURN OF THE THRONE! How did Ye make a better rap song than Off The Grid? He didn’t, so the best song on the record goes to the opener. Initially, this one closed out DONDA. As an outro, it didn’t hit me the way it did upon cuing the album up the first time (and everytime since). “Guess who’s going to jail tonight” might be the most Kanye lyric on the whole LP. “I’ll be honest, we’re all liars” is great songwriting especially with a choir singing it behind you. This is MBDTF-level magic. Words can’t express how deeply I feel this record. I may not go back to it as much as Off The Grid, but that’s because I don’t always feel like shouting my lungs out. And I can’t listen to this without shouting my lungs out. This that stadium rock. This that freedom music. This that don’t worry, be happy. God got us. Now to be honest, I technically prefer DaBaby’s verse on this to Hov’s… but the moment that Hov provides, as a reconciliation, as a big brother saying “I still love you, you’ll be fine”, it just really makes this hit that much harder even if I feel like he could’ve waxed more poetic. This is a real mission statement type of joint, and it perfectly defines where Kanye is at now. He’s a rockstar, one of the biggest the planet has ever seen. He’s divisive. He doesn’t fit in a box. But we still love him.
REST IN PEACE TO DONDA WEST