Albums to watch

Donda

Kanye West

Donda

Tenth studio album from the rapper originally due to be released in July 2020 includes guest appearances from Pusha T, Lil Baby, The Weeknd, Lil Yachty, Playboi Carti and Jay-Z

ADM rating[?]

5.4

Label
Def Jam / GOOD
UK Release date
29/08/2021
US Release date
29/08/2021
  1. 8.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    It has been a long time coming and with Donda, Kayne West cements his reputation of being someone that you can rely on for doing something, at the very least, interesting. It’s a dark record, full of some very honest sentiments and one that doesn’t always stick the landing
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  2. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Kanye West’s Donda is about human fallibility and the desire for salvation even when we may not deserve it
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  3. 8.0 |   Vinyl Chapters

    It is Kanye West returning to form and proof that he feels more inspired than he has in years
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  4. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    It's hard not to feel the energy that Kanye exudes on Donda. Though its creation process was an overarching performative event in itself, Ye still managed to (for the most part) control his narrative, and deliver his best body of work in recent memory
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  5. 7.0 |   Gigwise

    The most ‘Kanye’ album of all time
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  6. 6.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    It seems like we'll always be stuck on Kanye's wild ride – hip-hop gems inseparable from that undesirable side of filler, arrogance, and poor politics. What fun
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  7. 6.0 |   Pitchfork

    Kanye’s tenth album arrives barely finished and with a lot of baggage. Its 27 tracks include euphoric highs that lack connective tissue, a data dump of songs searching for a higher calling
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  8. 6.0 |   NME

    The rapper's 10th album follows an odyssey of delays and bizarre not-quite-release parties, the result merely punctuated with moments of brilliance
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  9. 6.0 |   All Music

    The first few times through, Donda feels haunted and incomplete, yet there's a spark deep inside the songs that suggests Kanye might merely be ahead of the curve. It wouldn't be the first time
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  10. 6.0 |   DIY

    Predictably bloated and unnecessarily uneven

  11. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    Though this isn’t a complete comeback, frustrated Kanye fans certainly have more grounds for optimism after this record than they did before it
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  12. 5.0 |   PopMatters

    During one of Donda’s many prayers, Kanye West sings, “this is not about me”. We see him for who he really is since the release of Yeezus
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  13. 5.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Donda doesn’t underwhelm, it overwhelms. It overwhelms like a new-born baby that has little concern for what you’ve experienced previously and what you have planned, forcing you to listen to its eternal screams
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  14. 5.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    After a series of false starts and blown-past release dates, Universal Music Group forced Kanye West’s hand and released his feature-length 10th album. Be prepared to ask yourself a lot of questions about it
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  15. 4.2 |   A.V. Club

    Perhaps if he hadn’t again spent so much time ginning up media hype surrounding the album, he could have taken his time to edit. And that’s the thing that’s missing most from this record, with all its myriad problems: No one edits West anymore, not even himself. And that’s a damn shame
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  16. 4.0 |   Rolling Stone

    West’s 10th album is an overlong mess, dotted with moments of sincerity and some spectacular music
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  17. 4.0 |   The Guardian

    There is some sustained brilliance here, but unfortunately it comes from the guest stars – and at 108 minutes, this long-awaited album is in need of an edit
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  18. 2.0 |   The FT

    The rapper’s new record is hobbled by repetitious hooks, unimaginative beats and sketchy song structures
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  19. 0.0 |   The Independent

    Donda leaves a sour taste that no number of good beats, gospel choirs or church organs will cleanse. Zero stars
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