Kanye West’s Donda vs. Drake’s Certified Lover

Image courtesy of Rolling Stone

By Andrea Suarez

The past two weeks have been hectic for music lovers. With Kanye West Donda released on August 29, 2021 (after a long period of fan teasing with its release), and Drake’s Boy in love certified Releasing five days later, on September 3, the rap industry received the content it expected. Many people have various reviews of these pieces which arouse the interest of listeners all over the world. Whether people enjoy listening to them or dread every song, both releases have made an impact on the modern music industry.

According to Complex, the first place in the charts is for Boy in love certified, which reached over 600 million streams. Drake is known to be an excellent lyricist with the best features of his albums. Maybe that’s because Drake’s lyrics draw fans from all over the world. On the other hand, Donda only has 200 million streams due to the hype for the album fading after years of no release.

The two Donda and Boy in love certified lacked exploration in creativity in order to appeal to the ears of listeners; Drake and West had the potential to maintain the roots of their old music, but they rushed to discover new techniques to provide a unique musical experience for their audiences (again, West’s teasing on Dondathe output of). The same quick lyrics and pop sounds that were used in their previous albums, however, weren’t kept in Donda and Boy in love certified. Both artists have discographies that peaked in 2016, including hit albums. Pablo’s life by the west and Views by Drake. Unfortunately, these novelties will never overtake the two projects of 2016.

With the new albums, Drake and West had the opportunity to experiment with new sounds and new lyrical techniques, although their style developed from mostly upbeat tunes to more relaxed and “cold” beats.

However, this was not the case for Boy in love certified, since the twenty-one tracks are repetitive and lack creativity. There is certainly room for improvement when it comes to the melodic and lyrical aspects of the new version of Drake as it falls short of the expectations of the majority of its listeners. The entire album appears to be unnatural and authentic in Drake’s style. Therefore, it is clear that Donda has the most creativity put forward in its production.

Donda is long, with 27 tracks, leaving more room for expressing the overall message of the entire album. The album begins with a rather unique introduction, “Donda Chant”, which is not the most appealing introduction due to the monotonous repetition of “Donda”. However, this leads to much nicer trails. Donda, on the whole, retains its quality, becoming more attractive after each song. Two pieces that caught the attention of DondaThe listeners of “Hurricane” and “Jail”. These tracks are about the freedom West has known since releasing his debut album ‘Praise’, Pablo’s life. This song’s two features, The Weeknd and Lil Baby, give it more melody and provide these important lyrics:

“Finally free, I found the God in me / And I want you to see, I can walk on water / Thousands of miles from shore, I can float on water / Father, hold me close , don’t let me drown / I know you won’t.

The “prison” also represents how West realizes he has freedom but can easily be trapped in the prison of sin. Both of these tracks have a wonderful message, which appeals to many who have followed West since his debut album.

The song in Boy in love certified which is a hit is “Way 2 Sexy”. This represents the overall message that Drake wanted to express; there is a sense of pride in every word, especially the title. Drake’s music, this time, is more expressive in that he has grown into a powerful individual and aims to show his selfishness. This cannot compare to West’s gospel themes, which provide a more personal account of his experiences since his mother’s death. Boy in love certified, overall, is an all-time favorite; however, it is not comparable to Dondaemotional depth.

Although both albums have taken over the charts in the past two weeks, it’s clear that Donda is more artistically and emotionally pleasurable than Boy in love certified. Her length is quite overwhelming, but it brings a complex perspective of West’s experiences in the industry and beyond, which makes her truly worthy of the top spot on the charts, instead of Boy in love certified.