Top 5 Best Songs from Kanye's Album Donda
#5: "Come to Life"
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Within an album that’s overflowing with collaborations with other artists, “Come to Life” is refreshingly pared-down. In this solo song, West sings over simple synths and a moving piano solo as he reflects on his relationship with Kim Kardashian and even mentions their daughter North. In the video, Kanye sets himself and the replica of his childhood home on fire, and also includes a clip of Kim in a veil and Balenciaga wedding dress from the third listening party. This raw and emotional track is the first from the album that was released with an official video on Kanye’s Youtube channel.
#4: "Pure Souls" (feat. Roddy Ricch & Shenseea) This new collaboration definitely raised some eyebrows, especially after Roddy Ricch made a statement calling out Kanye’s toilet Grammy. Ricch, who had been nominated in six categories at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, didn’t approve of how some stars seemed to disparage awards that many young artists dream of earning. With this track, Kanye shines the spotlight on two young, up-and-coming artists: Roddy Ricch, a 22-year old rapper, and Shenseea, a 24-year old Jamaican dancehall vocalist. The song sees the artists protecting their souls in the face of fame and greed, and how “truth is the only thing you get away with”.
#3: "Jail" (feat. Jay-Z)
It’s the return of The Throne. On the day of “Donda”’s release, this was the most streamed song of the album and was listened to almost 9 million times on Spotify. With this track, Kanye establishes the recurring themes of the album, referring to his faith and the end of his marriage with Kim Kardashian. Despite these losses, “Jail” sees a long-awaited reunion between Kanye and Jay-Z. In the spirit of many last-minute changes made for “Donda”, Jay-Z allegedly only recorded his verse hours before the first listening party in Atlanta. A second part to “Jail” appears near the end of the album, which includes controversial contributions from DaBaby and Marilyn Manson. We’ll leave it up to fans to decide which version of the song they prefer.
#2: "Off the Grid" (feat. Fivio Foreign & Playboi Carti)
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Like most of Kanye’s recent work, this song comes with a timeline of anticipation and speculation. When West was visiting Antwerp in December of 2020, a fan recorded a snippet of music playing from inside the rapper’s hotel. At the time, this clip was thought to be a leak of Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red, because West was an executive producer of this 2020 album. Instead, this snippet turned out to be Donda’s “Off the Grid” and the song was first played in its entirety at the second Atlanta listening party. With contributions from Fivio Foreign and Playboi Carti, “Off the Grid” has captivated fans with its lyrics and energetically ominous beat.
#1: "Hurricane" (feat. The Weeknd & Lil Baby)
The song has been anticipated for over two years, since Kanye first tweeted a clip to tease the album release of “Yandhi”, later rebranded as 2019’s “Jesus Is King”. This short recording actually features Kanye singing the 53 seconds of the chorus himself. Leading up to “Donda”, artists such as Big Sean, Ant Clemons, Young Thug, Ty Dolla $ign, and 6ix9ine have contributed to numerous unreleased versions of “Hurricane”. With The Weeknd taking over the chorus and a verse from Lil Baby, it’s no surprise this clear favourite has been released as the album’s single.
