Kanye West debuted his long-awaited “Donda” album in front of 42,000 spectators at Mercedes-Benz Stadium exactly two weeks ago.
The superstar rapper – a genius to his fans, an eccentric to the rest of the world – set up shop in a corner of the cavernous downtown Atlanta venue, where he slept in a makeshift spartan bedroom, ate meals prepared by a privately commissioned chef, toiled away on “Donda,” livestreamed elements of his temporary (?) life, and welcomed guests such as Chance the Rapper.
West emerged from his stadium cocoon on Thursday night for another live album presentation in front of a little smaller crowd of around 35,000 people.
West arrived on his own time, at 10:25 p.m., just like he did on July 22 when “Donda” played in the stadium while West walked around the arena floor (tickets were for 9 p.m.).
West, dressed in black with the word DONDA emblazoned across his back, stood in front of a circle of lights on a set that resembled his makeshift chamber (bed, candle, shoes) as the song including a speech from his late mother Donda West – for whom the album is titled – played. Perhaps a tribute to his circumstances was the hilarious phrase, “You brought church to stadiums built for for soccer.”
The reworked album sounded more unified right away, with more beats and melodies, and tracks like “New Again” and the Roddy Ricch collaboration “Pure Souls” felt more textured and musically satisfying.
During the roughly 90-minute show, guest appearances by Jay Electronica, Kid Cudi, Jadakiss, and Griselda were shown. Fans whooped appreciatively at the identification of both Jay-appearance Z’s on the guitar-buzzing, percussion-heavy “Jail” and The Weeknd’s creamy voice cushioning “Hurricane.”
West didn’t say anything, but he did improve the production, which wasn’t a difficult task in the first place.
West dropped to the ground to do pushups while scores of choir members trotted out from the hallways and filed around the stage while one song carrying the intonation “remain outside…get let’s right” played and the halo video board in the stadium flickered with pictures of threatening clouds.
Hundreds of more choir members, dressed head-to-toe in black, moved in an infinite circle around the stage during the clip-clop catchiness of “Junya” (with Playboi Carti, who also appeared on “Off the Grid”). As the choir exploded into angelic vocals, West appeared to be clutching a phone and having a false (?) quarrel. He also threw a black jacket over himself and raced around the stage before collapsing on the ground for several minutes during the opening half of the slow-burning “Remote.”
His lament about his imminent divorce, “Losing My Family,” was accompanied by more choir members crawling across the stage floor as his mother’s words repeated in the background and West lay still on the bed.
West’s estranged wife, Kim Kardashian West, was on hand, along with the couple’s children, for the second round of “Donda.”
Donda West loomed larger in this version of the record, as she did in “Jesus Lord” (“And if I spoke to Christ, could I bring my mother back to life?”). The mystical connotations were particularly noticeable during the rumbling “I Know God Breathed on This,” which was accompanied by pulsating red lights, as Kanye pondered.
West zoomed skyward on cables to finish his event, hanging limply in midair as an organ swelled for “No Child Left Behind,” concluding with the assertion, “He’s done wonders on me.”
While it’s clear that West’s extra effort has yielded an amazing album, fans are still waiting to hear when “Donda” will be released. Getting West to commit to a release date is like trying to catch air. But it will be worth the wait when it does arrive this time.
