Donda

For other uses, see Donda (disambiguation).

Donda
Studio album by Kanye West
Released	August 29, 2021 (2021-08-29)
Recorded	September 2018 – August 2021
Studio	Bighorn Mountain Ranch (Greybull, Wyoming) Pio Pico Art Gallery (Los Angeles) Island Sound (Honolulu) Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Genre	Hip hop gospel progressive rap pop
Length	108:48
Label	GOOD Def Jam
Producer	Kanye West 30 Roc 88-Keys All Day Arrow AyoAA Boi-1da BoogzDaBeast Cirkut Cubeatz Digital Nas DJ Khalil DrtWrk E.Vax Gesaffelstein Jeff Bhasker Louis Bell Mike Dean Ojivolta Ronny J Swizz Beatz TT Audi Warryn Campbell Wheezy
Kanye West chronology
Jesus Is King (2019) Donda (2021)
Singles from Donda
"Hurricane" Released: September 14, 2021 "Life of the Party" Released: November 14, 2021

Donda is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on August 29, 2021, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. West recorded much of the material at multiple locations in the summer of 2021, including Bighorn Mountain Ranch in Greybull, Wyoming. Guest vocals from the Sunday Service Choir, Jay-Z, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, The Weeknd, Vory, DaBaby, and Marilyn Manson, among others, are featured. West and Ojivolta handled most of the production, with further contributions from the likes of BoogzDaBeast, Dem Jointz and Mike Dean.

The album was initially set for release in July 2020 under the title of God's Country, but experienced multiple delays. Donda's first public listening event was held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on July 19, 2021, followed by a second event there on August 5 that set a record for the biggest Apple Music livestream ever. The third and final listening event was conducted at Soldier Field in Chicago on August 26, 2021. The album is primarily a hip hop, gospel, progressive rap, and pop record that features elements of numerous genres, including trap and drill. It is both minimalist and maximalist, with a reduced presence of drums and darker lyrical content in comparison to West's prior efforts. Themes explored include religion, Kanye's divorce from Kim Kardashian, and Donda West, whose forename is used for the title.

Upon Donda's release, Kanye West accused Universal Music Group of having released the album without his approval, which the label denied. "Hurricane" was released as the lead single in September 2021, and charted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album received mixed reviews from music critics, who were mostly divided towards the cohesiveness. Some noted an improvement from West's previous work and praised the composition, though numerous reviewers criticized the long runtime. Donda initially scored the most first-day streams for an album in 2021 on both Apple Music and Spotify.

Donda stood as West's 10th consecutive chart-topper on the US Billboard 200, tying the record set by Eminem. It reached the summit in 18 other regions, including Australia, France, and the United Kingdom, becoming West's first number-one album in the second of the three countries. The album has been certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), alongside being awarded the certification in New Zealand by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ). As a result of their respective allegations of homophobia and sexual abuse, the appearances from DaBaby and Marilyn Manson created controversy amongst audiences. In October 2021, the Donda Stem Player was issued, allowing users to remix the songs and adding three new ones, before a deluxe edition was released on November 14.

Background and recording

On November 18, 2019, West announced on Twitter that he was working with fellow rapper and producer Dr. Dre on a collaborative album entitled Jesus Is King Part II. Nine days later, record producer Ronny J confirmed that he had recently been in Wyoming to work on the album. During a December 2019 concert of his group the Sunday Service Choir in Lynwood, California, West stated that he had always wished he could collaborate with Dr. Dre and added, "Who knew all I had to do was do an album for God and then Dr. Dre would start mixing my beats? Spend your time on God, and he'll handle the rest." That same month, fellow rapper Consequence confirmed that he was in Wyoming when asked about recording for Jesus Is King Part II.

In March 2020, West recorded new music in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, before returning to Wyoming with his family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That same month, GOOD Music president Pusha T stated in a Discord interview that he had been recording with West recently. Pusha T was planning to meet with West on March 16, 2020, to complete a project, but cited "flights slowing down" due to COVID travel restrictions as the reason for a delay. On March 12, 2020, rappers Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine were spotted in Wyoming recording material with West. Westside Gunn would later confirm his collaboration with West in an interview for Elliot Wilson on Tidal, alongside recalling that they were set to travel to Cabo San Lucas, California after recording in Wyoming, until the COVID-19 pandemic canceled their plans.

During a conversation with French fashion designer Michèle Lamy in an Instagram Live stream on May 25, 2020, American cinematographer Arthur Jafa revealed that he was working on video material with West for a single from his forthcoming album, titled God's Country. On June 26, 2020, West unveiled a collaboration between his fashion company Yeezy and clothing retailer Gap alongside the launch of the #WestDayEver promotional campaign on Twitter, which accompanied announcements of different projects that same day. One of the projects was a music video for the track "Wash Us in the Blood" that features fellow rapper Travis Scott, directed by Jafa; the video was released on June 30, following a teaser in which West officially announced the album's title as God's Country. The track was set to be included on Donda, but did not appear on the final track listing. On July 13, 2020, Kanye shared a snippet on Twitter of the song "Donda", which featured his late mother Donda West reciting KRS-One's "Sound of da Police" (1993) and was accompanied by archival footage, including the Wests rapping together.

Initial cover art, shared by West in July 2020

Second proposed cover, showcasing an adaptation of a Louise Bourgeois painting from 2007

On July 21, 2020, Kanye West announced a release date of three days later and posted a revised tracklist, two days after he had tweeted another tracklist and subsequently deleted it. West also confirmed the title had been changed to Donda in honor of his mother, who he had also named his creative company after. Ultimately, the album missed its planned release date. On July 25, 2020, West tweeted out an accompanying album cover, showing an infrared scheme of orange and red mirroring the shape of the people, sun, and moon in the sky, backed by green mountains alongside purple and white clouds. West later shared a possible replacement cover via Twitter, which was an adaptation of a Louise Bourgeois gouache painting that had been created in 2007, the same year as Donda West's death, and included in Bourgeois' series Les têtes bleues et les femmes rouges (2015). A woman is shown in monochromatic red on the painting and a matching ponytail flows behind her, while a fertility idol is also partially present. After Kanye West posted numerous potential covers, a plain black square was ultimately used as the artwork for the album.

West sent out a series of tweets about his relationship with Universal Music in September 2020, mostly addressing his desire to buy his master recordings back from them. The rapper asserted that these efforts were obstructed by his signed contracts, succeeding this by tweeting multiple images that supposedly showed the contracts. On September 26, 2020, West shared a 39-second snippet of the track "Believe What I Say" to Twitter. West later released a song entitled "Nah Nah Nah" on October 26, calling the song his 2020 presidential campaign's theme music; it includes him referencing his candidacy. On November 13, 2020, West released a remix of "Nah Nah Nah" that features fellow rappers DaBaby and 2 Chainz. After the original and remix were both removed from streaming services in the lead up to Donda's release, neither of them made the final cut. On November 23, 2020, Consequence expressed enthusiasm about the album, describing it as "fire".

West's manager Abou "Bu" Thiam teased the release of Donda on June 8, 2021, commenting on Gap's Instagram post announcing their jacket with Yeezy, "WestDayEver. Album OTW!" On July 17, Consequence posted a video of West in the studio with Tyler, the Creator on Instagram. The caption of the post suggested a late 2021 album release. On July 19, Pusha T announced on Instagram that West would be holding a listening event for the album in three days at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Audio products company Beats by Dre then premiered a commercial during game six of the 2021 NBA Finals with athlete Sha'Carri Richardson, scored by West's track "No Child Left Behind". The commercial also showed the release date for Donda as July 23, 2021, and marked one of the first snippets of the music. French producer Gesaffelstein later revealed that he produced the song, marking his second time working with West after having previously contributed to the rapper's sixth studio album Yeezus (2013). Immediately following the commercial's debut, Def Jam reaffirmed the album's release date and revealed that the Atlanta listening event would be globally livestreamed on Apple Music.

Album sessions

West flew Lil Baby out to Wyoming to record for Donda on July 22, 2020, following on from him stating, "Lil baby my favorite rapper but won't do a song with me." The rapper ended up recording his verse for "Hurricane" after Kenyan-American rapper KayCyy suggested to him that he should contribute to it. The original version of the song was previewed via Instagram by West in September 2018 and also leaked online, initially being intended for his scrapped album Yandhi. After "Hurricane" was first previewed, it went through various iterations, with contributions from artists such as 6ix9ine, KayCyy, and American musician Ty Dolla Sign. However, none of their contributions made the final cut, which features vocals from Lil Baby and Canadian singer the Weeknd. On March 8, 2021, Cyhi the Prynce stated in an interview with VladTV that West had resumed work on Donda amid his divorce from his wife Kim Kardashian. On May 30, West was joined in the studio by fellow rapper Playboi Carti. Court filings obtained on June 14 revealed that West was recording for the album in Honolulu, Hawaii, after reportedly "freaking out" during his deposition in an ongoing lawsuit with tech company MyChannel; he held sessions at Island Studio in the city. Singer-songwriter Syleena Johnson worked on music in San Francisco on July 15, 2021, indicating via an Instagram post that she was collaborating with West. Speaking for Cocktails with Queens on Fox Soul, Johnson said she recorded the song "Donda Chant" as well as vocals for another track in the session that was ultimately scrapped.

After holding a listening event for Donda at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 22, 2021, West took up temporary residence in one of the locker rooms, converting it into a studio for finishing the recording and mixing with producer Mike Dean. Playboi Carti and 2 Chainz joined West for recording in the room, with West posting a photo to Instagram of himself and the former there a day before the event. 2 Chainz reportedly recorded his verse mere hours prior to the listening event, as did fellow rapper Jay-Z. After failing to meet the album's scheduled release date of July 23, West continued to record and live in Mercedes-Benz Stadium up until the second listening party held there on August 6, 2021. 24 hours before the second listening event commenced, West could be seen doing numerous activities during an Apple Music livestream. West also recorded for Donda at Bighorn Mountain Ranch in Greybull, Wyoming, which he bought for $14.5 million. The ranch spans over 6,700 acres, covering a larger area than the Monster Lake Ranch property in Wyoming that West previously bought.

Scrapped tracks

Chris Brown (left) and Soulja Boy (right) both publicly made comments aimed at West, as a result of the removal of their respective verses from the album.

A song titled "Never Abandon Your Family" was previewed at the listening events for Donda on July 22 and August 6, 2021, although it ultimately was not included on the first version of the album. It later appeared in the deluxe version of Donda, with a rewritten verse and an extended outro. "Donda", which was initially titled "South Carolina" when previewed at the aforementioned listening parties, originally featured a verse where West traded bars with Pusha T. The verse contained references to West's South Carolina rally from his 2020 presidential campaign.

The song "New Again", featuring vocals from R&B singer Chris Brown on the chorus, originally included a verse performed by the singer that he later leaked, after publicly calling West a "whole hoe". On September 28, 2021, the song was updated on streaming services, with Brown being replaced by West and the Sunday Service Choir. Rapper Soulja Boy originally recorded a verse for the track "Remote Control", although he was not included on the final version of the song. Following the album's release, Soulja Boy shared a snippet of his verse on Instagram, with the caption of the post saying "Fuck Kanye". Fellow rapper André 3000 also recorded a verse for an unreleased track entitled "Life of the Party", which had been previewed at a listening event for Donda in Las Vegas. In the song, West disses Canadian musician Drake, who leaked the song in retaliation amidst a feud between them. André 3000 lamented the feud, stating that his verse was written before West's diss.

On September 7, 2021, DJ Akademiks shared a screenshot of a conversation between West and an unnamed engineer that worked on the album, showing West firing the engineer after no response to his morning message to start work. On September 14, 2021, American multi-instrumentalist Todd Rundgren revealed he had recorded heavily for Donda and was tolerant of West delving into different subjects, but became frustrated with the rapper after a lack of feedback about his material. Rundgren also assumed it should be made clear if he can contribute or not and saw "a possibility" he is "actually in there somewhere" among the album's "junk", concluding by branding West "a dilettante". On September 24, 2021, after multiple artists had revealed that contributions to Donda from them were scrapped, West's sound engineer Nikolai Skrobat revealed that an upcoming playlist consisting of "forgotten tracks" from West's discography may include the album's unreleased material.

Music and lyrics

Donda covers the stylistic groundwork of West's previous albums; it has been described as a hip hop, gospel, progressive rap, and pop record. The album includes elements of trap, drill, boom bap, hip house and rock. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood described it as a blend of Yeezus's rough industrial hip hop, the "church-organ gospel" of West's previous studio album Jesus Is King (2019), the "gothic swagger" of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and the "bleeping" electropop of 808s & Heartbreak (2008). Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic perceived that "stylistic innovation has driven West's career" continuously, but he possibly "conceives of Donda as the album of his life—a capstone, an anthology". However, the album is unusual in his catalog due to its lack of drums, outside of a light amount of snares and occasional synth basses that imitate rhythm sections. Donda's integration of gospel music is more subtle than that of its predecessor, instead favoring the usage of trap beats and Auto-Tune. At Pitchfork, Dylan Green noted the production "jumps" from trap and drill to boom-bap and gospel, invoking GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer (2012).

According to Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph, the album is a maximalist hip hop record that follows a "more is more" philosophy through its "gleaming, swooping grooves and several kitchen sinks worth of production"; he noted how the grooves "go off" similarly to monster trucks moving loudly around a stadium. In contrast, Craig Jenkins of Vulture said that Donda's "unifying quality is a subtle minimalism", with prominent silence. Fred Thomas of AllMusic similarly opined that the album is built on "minimal arrangements that linger while feeling eerily unfinished". Jenkins also noticed West's diminished presence on the record, where he felt his "raps and hooks take up significantly less real estate" than any releases of his since Cruel Summer. In The Sydney Morning Herald, Michael Dwyer wrote that the "gospel flourishes of organ and voices" on Donda are elevated by "passionate yearning". It has a length of 1 hour and 48 minutes (1:48), which Green said contains "euphoric highs" with a lack of "connective tissue", observing "a data dump of songs searching for a higher calling". Gigwise writer Charlie Brock depicted that the album "ebbs and flows", being "melancholic and subversive" at some points, and "outlandish and snarling" at others.

Donda was inspired by religion, being themed around West's faith across much of the material. Some critics have described the album as sombre, with darker lyrical content than West's previous works. For Exclaim!, Riley Wallace asserted that it is a lot less clumsy than Jesus Is King and also a "more accessible body of work". References to addiction and mental instability are prominent, as well as Kanye West's ego and his family, including the collapse of his marriage with Kardashian and thoughts about Donda. Themes of hope, rebirth, and salvation are also present. Jon Caramanica wrote for The New York Times that in Donda, West continues to trade off the lyrical focus on self-awareness and wordplay of his earlier material for a more "terse and immediate approach, one that complements his musical shifts toward the industrial and the spiritual", which he started to do in the 2010s. In the same vein as Jesus Is King, Donda features no explicit language, with all expletives being edited out.

Songs

The album's opening track, "Donda Chant", consists of singer Syleena Johnson chanting Donda West's forename repeatedly for nearly a minute. "Jail" follows and is the first full track, featuring Kanye West and Jay-Z combining metaphors about crime with details of marriage and sin. The track is a fusion of "maximalist hip hop", pop, and alternative rock, incorporating auto-tuned vocals and arena rock guitar riffs. The song contains almost no drums, until the last segment of the track brings a "brief, stilted drum pattern", described as industrial percussion. "God Breathed" has an abrasive, industrial sound that was compared to Yeezus, and features West offering redemption, reaffirming his trust in God before a wordless choir performs the outro. Playboi Carti and fellow rapper Fivio Foreign attempt to find a balance between faith in themselves and faith in God within their verses on "Off the Grid", later being followed by West providing a revelation of his religious mission statement in the closing verse and at one point, he dubs God "my bestie". The song has an intense drill beat, featuring a "melodically complex" bassline and a "sustained choir". "Hurricane" is an R&B song, with layered organs and processed choir vocals that are cut akin to a sample. West touches on personal issues such as his breakup with Kardashian and his house, while the hook sees the Weeknd exude confidence and Lil Baby provides a mournful performance. "Praise God" contains a vocal sample of Donda West proclaiming, "Even if you are not ready for the day, it cannot always be night." Lyrically, the song features Baby Keem mixing "worship with the dark carnality of the mosh pit" and Kanye West connecting his issues to God's mysterious behavior. "Jonah" sees him rapping about his relationship with God, alongside fellow rappers Vory and Lil Durk opening up about their pain of losing friends and family members, respectively.

"Ok Ok" includes West commanding his status, while fellow rapper Lil Yachty boasts about sexual action. "Junya" is a tribute to Japanese fashion designer Junya Watanabe and features a skeletal arrangement of handclaps, organs, and heavy bass. It contains a Drake diss from West, who alludes to Certified Lover Boy's delayed release. On "Believe What I Say", described as hip house, R&B and soul, West offers a reminder to not let fame drag him down and references Kardashian. West and the Sunday Service Choir provide worship on "24", which features him delivering a message of hope in relation to God over a discordant organ. "Remote Control" has an instrumental with a whistling hook over which West comments on technology and its infiltration of life, while Young Thug boasts about his property. On "Moon", rapper Kid Cudi provides a wistful performance. Throughout "Heaven and Hell", West lets out his thoughts on Jeff Bezos, vinyl, and modern culture. "Donda" contains a vocal sample of a speech by West's mother of the same name, who talks about him being a genius; the speech precedes a Christian worship moment from The World Famous Tony Williams. On the boom bap track "Keep My Spirit Alive", West claims to be anti-commercial and links his problems with the behavior of God. "Jesus Lord" stands as Donda's centerpiece and Kanye West details the story of how he changed from who he used to be in his verse, as well as questioning if he will go to heaven and see Donda there. Rapper Jay Electronica then offers a cryptic worldview based on various points, before the song ends with the son of gang leader Larry Hoover thanking West for taking his father's case to the White House of 2017–2021 US president Donald Trump.

Throughout the hip house track "New Again", West searches for salvation and showcases awareness of religion's trappings. The first version featured Brown crooning repentance for everything he will do again on the chorus, though the update replaced him with West and the Sunday Service Choir. "Tell the Vision" serves as an interlude and is an alternate take on the song of the same name from the 2021 album Faith by rapper Pop Smoke, who is the sole performer on the interlude. On "Lord I Need You", West goes in detail about divorcing Kardashian and at one point, he begs God to "wrap your arms around me in mercy". Within "Pure Souls", religious ideas are expressed and West declares there is a new version of him to adapt to, while Roddy Ricch wonders about truth on the hook. West sings about the emotional fallout from getting divorced on "Come to Life", alongside assuring that he is connected with God. "No Child Left Behind" is the album's final track before the second versions of songs and features Vory uttering the titular phrase in reference to the education act signed by 2001–2009 US president George W. Bush, as well as West singing about the guidance and strength that he has received from God.

The last four tracks on Donda are either alternate or extended versions of preceding songs. "Jail pt 2" features an additional verse from DaBaby, who doubles down on his homophobia, complains about financial issues, and references his daughters. Singer Marilyn Manson also appears on the version, singing along with West at a few points. "Ok Ok pt 2" and "Junya pt 2" include further contributions from Shenseea and Ty Dolla Sign, respectively. Extra verses are performed on "Jesus Lord pt 2" by each member of the Lox, with them opening up about their connections to different gods.

Release and promotion

In late July 2021, a representative for West announced a release date of August 6 for Donda, which was later confirmed via both a Beats by Dre commercial and West's Apple Music livestream. On August 5, 2021, a pre-order for the album was launched on iTunes, revealing it to feature 24 songs, along with an August 27 release date, before the date was revised to six days later. Conflictingly, Apple Music displayed the release date to be August 15, before one set for five days later appeared on the service. On August 20, 2021, the service listed a release date of August 28, one day after Donda's third listening party; Thiam reaffirmed that the release would come after the event. On August 27, 2021, Donda's release date experienced another pushback on Apple Music, setting it to coincide with the release of Drake's sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy on September 3. It was speculated across social media that the delay was intentional to increase competition between the two artists.

On August 29, 2021, Donda was released by GOOD Music, distributed by Def Jam, succeeding several delays during that month. "Jail pt 2" was originally absent, only showing up on the Spotify version of the album, where it appeared as an "unavailable" track due to DaBaby's manager not having cleared his verse at the time of release. Hours after its official release, West claimed that Universal Music had released Donda without his approval and blocked "Jail pt 2" from appearing on the album. Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal later added the song to Donda. Universal Music denied that they had either released the album without West's approval or blocked the release of "Jail pt 2", with an anonymous source at the company calling his claims "preposterous".

On September 3, 2021, "Hurricane" was playlisted by Swedish mainstream station Sveriges Radio P3. The song was sent to American rhythmic contemporary radio stations by GOOD Music and Def Jam as the lead single from Donda on September 14, 2021. "Hurricane" reached number 12 on the Swedish Singles Chart following the album's release, while it debuted five places higher on the UK Singles Chart. The song entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number six, giving West his 19th top-10 hit on the chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for amassing 500,000 certified units in the US on September 29, 2021. "Jail" simultaneously debuted at number 10 on the Hot 100, with the two entries making West the 21st act to have 20 top-10s on the Hot 100.

West purchased many large billboards to advertise Donda in Drake's hometown of Toronto during September 2021, outnumbering the ones used for Certified Lover Boy on the day of its release. A music video for "Come to Life" was released on September 2, 2021. The video features footage from the album's third listening event at Soldier Field, showing West setting on fire then reuniting with Kardashian. A music video for "24" was released on September 16, 2021. The video begins with footage from Donda's second Mercedes-Benz Stadium listening event of West ascending towards the sky, before he rises above the stadium and floats around among clouds. A clip for "Donda Chant" was shared exclusively to Instagram by West on September 19, 2021. The black-and-white visual incorporates aerial footage from the album's Soldier Field listening event that shows the replica of Kanye West's childhood home, on which flashes of old pictures of Donda are projected. On October 16, 2021, West performed a four-song set for Tiffany & Co. executive Alexandre Arnault and D'estree founder Geralde Guyot after their wedding in Venice, Italy, which included "Come to Life" and "Believe What I Say".

Streaming performance and updates

In its first day of release, Donda earned the second-biggest global Spotify debut for album streams ever, with nearly 100 million streams, and broke the record for the biggest first day streams of 2021 on the service that was set by Olivia Rodrigo's Sour. The album also set a new record by reaching number one on Apple Music's top albums chart in 152 countries in its first day, and earned the third-biggest first day debut streams for an album. West and Donda broke the 2021 record for the most-streamed artist and album in one day on Apple Music, while 19 of the top-20 tracks on the service's Top 100 Global songs chart were from the album. Donda amassed 60 million first day streams in the United States on Apple, setting a streaming record for 2021 in the country. After eight days of streaming, it had reached around 423 million on-demand audio streams in the US. 25 of the tracks debuted with the top-40 of Spotify's U.S. chart, with 10 of them occupying the top-10. The album's 2021 record for first day Spotify streams was broken by Certified Lover Boy, which also surpassed its eight-day total of US on-demand audio streams within three days, amassing over 430 million streams. By October 26, the former had amassed over a billion streams on Spotify, becoming West's fastest album to achieve this milestone.

On September 28, 2021, West released an updated version of Donda separately from the original on streaming services. The changes included the removal of KayCyy and Brown from "Keep My Spirit Alive" and "New Again", respectively; Brown's writing credits were also removed from the latter. West replaced KayCyy on the former, while him and the Sunday Service Choir appeared in place of Brown on "New Again". The original version of "Keep My Spirit Alive" with KayCyy's contributions was later re-released on the deluxe edition as "Keep My Spirit Alive pt 2".

Donda Stem Player

Picture of the Donda Stem Player, showing two of the channels on mute and the other two on full volume.

On August 25, 2021, West announced the Donda Stem Player via his website, a standalone music player allowing users to remix the album's songs using their stems. Users are also given the ability to control vocals, drums, bass, and samples, isolate parts, and add effects. The player was announced as being set to be released by West's brand Yeezy Tech in collaboration with Kano Computing and sold for $200. On October 27, 2021, the Donda Stem Player was made available by West, with three extra songs being included. The new songs are a censored edit of "Life of the Party", "Up from the Ashes", and an updated version of "Never Abandon Your Family". In addition, the player contains a version of "Remote Control" that re-adds Kid Cudi's original contribution.

Deluxe edition

On November 5, 2021, in an interview with N.O.R.E. on Drink Champs, West announced that a deluxe version of Donda was set to be released, teasing a song called "Let Go". Eight days later, billboards advertising the deluxe edition appeared around Los Angeles. On November 14, 2021, Donda (Deluxe) was released to streaming services. Simultaneously, an explicit version of "Life of the Party" was released as a single from the deluxe edition.

Listening events

Invites to "A Donda Listening Event" (left), "The Donda Album Release" (middle), and "The Donda Album Experience" (right). The first two were held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, while the latter was held at Soldier Field in Chicago.

To promote Donda prior to its release, West held a series of listening events. During the album's events, guest appearances from various artists were revealed, including Lil Baby, Playboi Carti, Pusha T, Jay-Z, Lil Yachty, Vory, KayCyy, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Jay Electronica, Pop Smoke, the Sunday Service Choir, DaBaby, Marilyn Manson, and the Weeknd. West had updated Donda after each listening event like he did with his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016), changing content such as the features on songs. Speaking with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Dean depicted the process as "interesting" and "gruelling", remembering "lots of hours" and changes, from which the album "came out great". He elaborated by explaining that "each listening party was like a test" of sorts, with West succeeding each one by taking all "the information he got from everyone, including online reviews [and] personal friends' reviews", then "digest[ing] it all" in a manner to "adjust" Donda "the way" he wanted.

West held a private listening event for the album at ChurchLV in Las Vegas on July 18, 2021, which required registration and was invite-only. It started at 6:30 p.m. and finished at 8 p.m. Clips of the event surfaced online showing West hunched over his laptop, wearing gloves and a ski mask over his head. West played the music from his MacBook throughout, not speaking whatsoever. Following the listening event, Revolt host Justin LaBoy posted a photo of himself with West and referred to Donda as album of the year.

On July 19, 2021, it was announced that West would hold a public listening event for Donda, titled "Kanye West Presents: A Donda Listening Event", at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 22, 2021. It was set to start at 8 p.m. on the date, though the livestream began nearly two hours behind schedule on Apple Music. West was completely silent throughout and paced the length of the stage at points, where he was unaccompanied. The listening event sold out Mercedes-Benz Stadium's 2021 capacity of 42,000, alongside setting a record for the biggest Apple Music livestream worldwide, with over 3.3 million viewers.

Live Nation Entertainment confirmed at the end of July 2021 that the album's second listening event in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, titled "Kanye West Presents: The Donda Album Release", was set to take place on August 5. It was scheduled to start at 9 p.m. on the date. An Apple Music livestream commenced from West's room inside the stadium on the morning of August 5, 2021, leading up to the event, which later began at 9:30 p.m. The event was a grander presentation than its predecessor and on the circular stage, West's room was re-created. West was positioned in the center throughout, wearing an all-black outfit and a mask. The event ended with him being elevated to the ceiling of Mercedes-Benz Stadium by harness, in a manner reminiscent of ascending to heaven. The listening party had over 40,000 attendees, though only four of them took a shot of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that they were invited to receive there. It surpassed West's own record for the most popular livestream on Apple Music, drawing in 5.4 million viewers. Following the event, Kid Cudi was reported to be featured on "Moon" and "Remote Control" alongside Don Toliver and Young Thug, respectively, though he was only included on the final version of the former on Donda.

On August 18, 2021, West announced a third listening event for the album entitled "Kanye West Presents: The Donda Album Experience", which was scheduled to be hosted at Soldier Field in Chicago on August 26; the stadium's Twitter account simultaneously gave confirmation. The event was slated to begin at 9 p.m. On August 24, 2021, Chopper 7HD flew over Soldier Field, capturing the construction of a replica of West's childhood home at the stadium's center. The event was livestreamed on Apple Music and started nearly two hours behind schedule, beginning at 10:49 p.m. Kanye West appeared by coming out from the replica home while wearing an all-black outfit, accompanied by footage and photo collages of Donda. West was joined on the porch of the home by Marilyn Manson and DaBaby. For the event's conclusion, West came out of the replica home wearing a stunt suit after having been set on fire inside earlier and was quickly extinguished, unmasking himself to reunite with Kardashian.

Soldier Field was limited from its standard capacity of 63,000 due to COVID-19 restrictions, with the listening event having an attendance of around 38,000. On August 31, 2021, it was reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that the replica was used because Chicago's Buildings Department did not allow West to move his home from the street address, as originally intended. The department explained how moving a home in the city "is a very technical process that requires structural engineer reports and multiple city permits", revealing the denial of West's request was due to "no permit application ha[ving] been received to excavate and move the vacant property" while it was also in Demolition Court.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.4/10
Metacritic	53/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	C−
The Daily Telegraph
Exclaim!	7/10
The Guardian
The Independent
NME
Pitchfork	6.0/10
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine

Donda was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 53, based on 19 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it a 5.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Charles Lyons-Burt of Slant Magazine felt impressed with Donda, believing it to feature West at "arguably the most vulnerable and broken that [he] has allowed himself to appear on record". Lyons-Burt also praised the themes and production, and concluded by labeling the album West's "most unforgiving self-portrait yet". Chris Willman from Variety saw its music as "close to unassailable" and praised the pacing, besides "those last four completely superfluous remixes", while he prefered the structure of the gospel elements to those on Jesus Is King. Marcus Shorter hailed Donda as the rapper's best album since Yeezus at Consequence, describing it as "ambitious, raw, indulgent, and, after several revisions, a cohesive vision". Wallace regarded the album as "[West's] best body of work in recent memory" and appreciated the narrative behind it, though was mixed about the features and criticized the length. Rhian Daly of NME felt assured the album "isn't a rushed job", although believed it could have been improved by West wasting less time and "learning when to let things go", finding there to be a large amount of filler alongside "enough gems" to make the album worthwhile.

Wood asserted that Donda registers more as a way "of maintaining Kanye's powerful social standing" than "an organized aesthetic experience", characterizing it as feeling "slapdash" due to the disorganized themes. He went on to praise how the album takes from West's various eras of the past, such as Yeezus, Jesus Is King, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and 808s & Heartbreak. Paul Thompson of Rolling Stone saw that the album is "more considered and musically coherent" than any of West's projects over the preceding five years, though considered it to be uneven and too long, with a "radically superior second half". Kornhaber gave the album a negative review, writing that "supposed transcendence comes to feel suspiciously like regression" while surrender feels like "self-exculpation". He complained how the album "aches" for "a miracle to unfold" of similarity to the accompanying listening events and harshly asserted that it seems like "a career's worth of B-sides", despite crediting the highlights for being "pretty good". Jonny Coleman, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, called Donda a "slog", feeling confused as to what the album "is supposed to be the soundtrack for", admitting it is neither a "party record" nor inviting of introspection. Coleman also believed the album lacks spirituality besides literal references, saying it is "not really a radio record", and is "disposable and forgettable, like so much of culture spat down to us during COVID". In particular, Coleman felt the album lacked thematic coherence and reverence for Donda West, viewing it as self-indulgent. Roisin O'Connor from The Independent granted the album zero stars for Marilyn Manson's "inexcusable presence", complaining how it leaves "a sour taste" that no amount of "good beats, gospel choirs or church organs will cleanse".

Commercial performance

Donda debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 after a five-day period of tracking, with 309,000 album-equivalent units that consisted of 272,000 streaming-equivalent album units, 37,000 pure album sales, and less than 1,000 track-equivalent units. The album-equivalent units set a record for the highest amount of 2021, exceeding the 295,000 units amassed by Olivia Rodrigo's Sour. Kanye West scored his 10th chart-topper on the Billboard 200 with the album, making him one of seven artists to have gathered this amount of number-ones on the chart. It also marked West's 10th consecutive album to debut at the summit, tying him with Eminem's record. Donda ranked as the longest number-one album of the 2020s decade, spanning nearly 109 minutes. It reached the summit of the US Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums charts too, becoming West's second album to top the two charts and achieving the biggest unit week for both. The album entered atop the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, on which it was the rapper's 10th chart-topper. 23 of Donda's tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, leading to West joining Drake as one of the two artists to have 23 or more songs chart simultaneously. This also increased West's Hot 100 entries to 133, the fifth most of any act, a ranking he attained for top-40 hits as well by having scored 68. "Hurricane" was the highest charting track, reaching number six and becoming West's 19th top-20 hit. The 23 tracks took up the top-23 spots on both the US Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts, exceeding West's record of all top-10 positions on the former chart and the top-11 on the latter. As a result of the album and its tracks, West went up from number 67 to the top position on the Billboard Artist 100, giving him his third week atop the chart. By September 15, 2021, Donda had pushed 500,000 album-equivalent units in the US, making the album eligible to be certified gold by the RIAA; the organization awarded it with this certification 12 days later.

In Canada, Donda topped the Canadian Albums Chart. Elsewhere, the album entered atop the ARIA Albums chart in Australia, standing as West's fourth number-one release on the chart. This led to him joining 5 Seconds of Summer, Justin Bieber, Keith Urban, Kings of Leon, and Lady Gaga as one of the acts to achieve their fourth number-one album in the 2020s decade. The debut increased West's number of chart-topping weeks to five, alongside giving the rapper his ninth top-10 release on the ARIA Albums chart. 19 of Donda's tracks debuted within the top-50 of the ARIA Singles chart; "Hurricane" charted the highest at number four. The entries surpassed Taylor Swift's milestone of 16 debuts in the top-50, as well as the record held by both Post Malone and Michael Jackson for 17 tracks present within this ranking. The album also topped the New Zealand Albums chart. By October 4, 2021, it had been certified gold by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for shipments of 7,500 units in New Zealand.

Donda ranked at number one on the midweek album sales chart in the United Kingdom, before debuting at the same position on the UK Albums Chart. It gave West his third chart-topper in the UK and stood as his first since Yeezus in 2013. The album pushed 19,617 chart sales, 91 percent of which came from 17,921 streaming-equivalent units, while the other nine percent consisted of 1,696 paid downloads. In total, Donda accumulated 33.4 million streams in the UK across its 27 tracks. Three of the tracks debuted on the UK Singles Chart, with "Hurricane" attaining the highest position of number seven. The album entered atop the Irish Albums Chart, standing as West's second number-one album in Ireland and his ninth to reach the top-10. West had the three highest new entries on the Irish Singles Chart with the tracks that debuted; "Hurricane" was the most successful, reaching number seven. Donda opened at the summit of the French Albums chart, becoming West's first number-one album in France and selling 9,476 copies over a five-day tracking period. The album also topped the charts in Austria, Belgium's Flanders and Wallonia regions, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. It further peaked within the top five in Germany, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland.

Controversy

The inclusion of American rapper DaBaby (left) and industrial singer Marilyn Manson (right) as guest artists on Donda led to negative responses from critics.

The revelation of DaBaby and Marilyn Manson as guest artists during Donda's August 26 listening event was met with intense disapproval from critics due to the respective allegations of homophobia and sexual abuse against them. According to Jem Aswad of Variety, "West was widely accused of trolling the public, among other things, after [the] event." In response, as Ellen Durney of BuzzFeed News wrote, "some fans" suggested that the inclusion of DaBaby and Manson might have been West's "attempt at commentary on 'cancel culture'", and Consequence writer Alex Young provided a similar presumption. West defended DaBaby's presence, recalling him being "the only person who said he would vote for me in public". An unspecified source told People about West's decision to work with the rapper and Marilyn Manson: "He knows that having controversial figures around will be provocative and will get people to [sic] talking." The source continued by opening up that West knows "people are going to be upset" and he will experience "backlash", and is also aware "people are talking about it today when they wouldn't have been otherwise".

Marilyn Manson's former partner Evan Rachel Wood, who had accused him of sexual assault, "seem[ed] to respond" to his inclusion on Donda a few hours after its release, according to NME's Daly. She did this by posting a video of her covering New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" to Instagram, quoting its title and encouraging recent alleged fellow survivors "who got slapped in the face" to not give up. Aaron Loose of Christianity Today slammed West's decision to work with Marilyn Manson and DaBaby as "an unforgivable insult to marginalised rap fans", alongside offering that it is hard not to skip "New Again" due to "convicted domestic abuser" Brown's lazy crooning about repenting. O'Connor at The Independent criticized the presence of the former two, whom she describes as "two of music's most despised figures", finding their inclusion inexcusable. She condemned Universal Music for approving the album's release, noting that Marilyn Manson's appearance "speaks volumes of society's apathy towards rape survivors".

Track listing

Track listing adapted from Tidal.

Donda track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Donda Chant"	Kanye West Syleena Johnson	Kanye West	0:52
2.	"Jail"	West Shawn Carter Warryn Campbell Charles Njapa Michael Dean Mark Williams Raul Cubina Dwayne Abernathy Sean Solymar John Moylett	West 88-Keys Mike Dean Ojivolta Dem Jointz E.Vax Sean Solymar	4:57
3.	"God Breathed"	West Tavoris Hollins Evan Mast M. Williams Cubina Aaron Butts Federico Vindver Brian Miller Richard McGuire Salvatore Principato Dennis Young Scott Hartley	West E.Vax Ojivolta Arrow Federico Vindver All Day	5:33
4.	"Off the Grid"	West Jordan Carter Maxie Ryles III Samuel Gloade M. Williams Cubina Aswad Asif David Ruoff Elias Klughammer Eric Sloan Jr.	West 30 Roc Ojivolta AyoAA David x Eli Sloane	5:39
5.	"Hurricane"	West Abel Tesfaye Dominique Jones Mark Mbogo Josh Mease Daniel Seeff Sam Barsh Jahmal Gwin M. Dean Khalil Abdul-Rahman Ronald Spence, Jr. M. Williams Cubina Henry Walter Njapa Christopher Ruelas	West BoogzDaBeast Dean DJ Khalil Ronny J Ojivolta Cirkut 88-Keys Nascent	4:03
6.	"Praise God"	West Jacques Webster II Hykeem Carter, Jr. Mbogo Gloade M. Williams Cubina Anthony Khan Aqeel Tate Sloan	West 30 Roc Ojivolta The Twilite Tone Zentachi Dean Sloane	3:46
7.	"Jonah"	West Durk Banks Hollins Michael Suski Tahrence Brown Wesley Glass M. Dean	West DrtWrk TT Audi Wheezy Dean	3:15
8.	"Ok Ok"	West Miles McCollum Denzel Charles Ryles Rennard East Matthew Samuels Louis Bell	West Boi-1da Louis Bell	3:24
9.	"Junya"	West J. Carter East Nasir Pemberton M. Williams Cubina Roark Bailey	West Digital Nas Ojivolta Roark Bailey	2:27
10.	"Believe What I Say"	West Mark Myrie Cristi Gallo Abernathy Michael Mulé Isaac De Boni M. Williams Cubina Gwin Anthony Reid	West Dem Jointz FnZ Ojivolta BoogzDaBeast Antman Wonder	4:02
11.	"24"	West Mbogo Miller M. Williams Cubina Campbell	West All Day Ojivolta Warryn Campbell Cory Henry	3:17
12.	"Remote Control"	West Jeffery Williams Pemberton Kevin Gomringer Tim Gomringer M. Williams Cubina Njapa M. Dean Travis Walton	West Digital Nas Cubeatz Ojivolta 88-Keys Dean Teddy Walton	3:18
13.	"Moon"	West Caleb Toliver Scott Mescudi Mast Gwin Abdul-Rahman	West E.Vax BoogzDaBeast DJ Khalil	2:36
14.	"Heaven and Hell"	West Njapa Gwin M. Williams Cubina Nima Jahanbin Paimon Jahanbin Edgar Panford	West 88-Keys BoogzDaBeast Ojivolta Wallis Lane Nabeyin	2:25
15.	"Donda"	West Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta	2:08
16.	"Keep My Spirit Alive"	West Mbogo Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Darius Woodley Rico Nichols Lawrence Parker	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta Dem Jointz Darius Woodley Rico Nichols	3:41
17.	"Jesus Lord"	West Elpadaro Allah Larry Hoover, Jr. Kasseem Dean Mike Lévy M. Dean	West Swizz Beatz Gesaffelstein Dean	8:58
18.	"New Again"	West Christopher Brown Gwin Abernathy M. Williams Cubina N. Jahanbin P. Jahanbin Laraya Robinson Njapa	West BoogzDaBeast Dem Jointz Ojivolta Wallis Lane Mia Wallis 88-Keys	3:03
19.	"Tell the Vision" (performed by Pop Smoke)	West Bashar Jackson Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta	1:44
20.	"Lord I Need You"	West Carlos Phillips Gwin Glass Mulé De Boni Mast	West BoogzDaBeast Wheezy FnZ E.Vax Ojivolta Fallen	2:42
21.	"Pure Souls"	West Rodrick Moore Chinesa Lee Tyshane Thompson Raphael Saadiq Simon Plummer Donny Flores Gwin M. Williams Cubina M. Dean Tim Friedrich Christoph Bauss Bastian Völkel Orlando Wilder	West BoogzDaBeast Ojivolta Dean Sucuki Shuko Bastian Völkel Fya Man	5:58
22.	"Come to Life"	West Jeff Bhasker Campbell M. Williams Cubina	West Bhasker Ojivolta Campbell Dean	5:10
23.	"No Child Left Behind"	West Hollins Gwin Lévy Jahshua Brown	West BoogzDaBeast Gesaffelstein Cashmere Brown	2:58
24.	"Jail pt 2"	West Jonathan Kirk Brian Warner Campbell Njapa M. Dean M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Solymar	West 88-Keys Dean Ojivolta Dem Jointz E.Vax Solymar	4:57
25.	"Ok Ok pt 2"	West Charles Chinsea Lee Ryles East Thompson Plummer Flores Samuels Bell	West Boi-1da Bell	3:24
26.	"Junya pt 2"	West J. Carter Tyrone Griffin East Pemberton M. Williams Cubina Bailey	West Digital Nas Ojivolta Bailey	3:02
27.	"Jesus Lord pt 2"	West Allah Jason Phillips David Styles Sean Jacobs Hoover K. Dean Lévy M. Dean	West Swizz Beatz Gesaffelstein Dean	11:30
Total length:				108:49

Deluxe edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Donda Chant"	West Johnson Yusef	West	0:52
2.	"Hurricane"	West Tesfaye Jones Mbogo Cydel Young Dexter Mills Yusef Pemberton Wilder Mease Albert Daniels Cailin Russo Seeff Barsh Tobias Smith Gwin M. Dean Abdul-Rahman Spence M. Williams Cubina Walter Njapa Ruelas	West BoogzDaBeast Dean DJ Khalil Ronny J Ojivolta Cirkut 88-Keys Nascent	4:03
3.	"Moon"	West Toliver Mescudi Yusef Mast Gwin Abdul-Rahman	West E.Vax BoogzDaBeast DJ Khalil	2:36
4.	"Life of the Party" (with André 3000)	West André Benjamin Terrence Thornton Yusuf East Miller Gwin Khan Vindver M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Derek Watkins Norma Toney Jack Hansen Bruce Kirkman Paul Anastasio	West All Day BoogzDaBeast The Twilite Tone Vindver Ojivolta Dem Jointz Fonzworth Bentley	6:31
5.	"Off the Grid"	West Carter Ryles C. Young Yusef Billy Walsh Wilder T. Smith Gloade M. Williams Cubina Asif Ruoff Klughammer Sloan	West 30 Roc Ojivolta AyoAA David x Eli Sloane	5:39
6.	"Jail"	West S. Carter Yusef Campbell Njapa M. Dean M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Solymar Moylett	West 88-Keys Dean Ojivolta Dem Jointz E.Vax Solymar	4:57
7.	"Praise God"	West Webster H. Carter Che Smith Yusef Mbogo Gloade M. Williams Cubina Khan Tate Sloan	West 30 Roc Ojivolta The Twilite Tone Zentachi Dean Sloane	3:46
8.	"Come to Life"	West Yusef Walsh Bhasker M. Williams Cubina Campbell M. Dean	West Bhasker Ojivolta Campbell Dean	5:10
9.	"Believe What I Say"	West Myrie C. Young Yusef Walsh Gallo Adam Wright Abernathy Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina Gwin Reid	West Dem Jointz FnZ Ojivolta BoogzDaBeast Antman Wonder	4:02
10.	"No Child Left Behind"	West Hollins Yusef Gwin Lévy J. Brown Douglas Brown Franklyn Smith	West BoogzDaBeast Gesaffelstein Cashmere Brown	2:58
11.	"Up from the Ashes"	West Nikisha Grier T. Thornton Gene Thornton East Matthew Leon Alex Ernewein Timothy Mosley Vindver Angel Lopez	West Sean Leon Alex Ernewein Timbaland Vindver Angel Lopez	2:42
12.	"Remote Control pt 2"	West J. Williams Mescudi C. Young Yusef Pemberton K. Gomringer T. Gomringer M. Williams Cubina Njapa M. Dean Walton	West Digital Nas Cubeatz Ojivolta 88-Keys Dean Walton	5:23
13.	"God Breathed"	West Hollins Yusef Mast M. Williams Cubina Aaron Butts Vindver Miller McGuire Principato D. Young Hartley	West E.Vax Ojivolta Arrow Vindver All Day	5:33
14.	"Lord I Need You"	West A. Phillips Lee Stashenko Gwin Glass Mulé De Boni Mast Anthony Williams II	West BoogzDaBeast Wheezy FnZ E.Vax Ojivolta Fallen	2:42
15.	"24"	West Mbogo Mills Yusef Daniels Miller M. Williams Cubina Campbell	West All Day Ojivolta Campbell Henry	3:17
16.	"Junya"	West J. Carter C. Young T. Thornton Mills Yusef Walsh Warren Trotter East Pemberton M. Williams Cubina Bailey	West Digital Nas Ojivolta Bailey	2:27
17.	"Never Abandon Your Family"	West Bell Yusef Walsh Daniels M. Williams Cubina	West Ojivolta	3:27
18.	"Donda"	West Yusef Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina Catherine Bollinger John Trainum	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta	2:08
19.	"Keep My Spirit Alive"	West Mbogo Yusef Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Woodley Nichols Parker	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta Dem Jointz Woodley Nichols	3:41
20.	"Jesus Lord pt 2"	West Yusef Allah J. Phillips Styles Jacobs Hoover K. Dean Lévy M. Dean	West Swizz Beatz Gesaffelstein Dean	12:05
21.	"Heaven and Hell"	West Young Yusef Walsh Wilder T. Smith Michael Oliver Njapa Gwin M. Williams Cubina N. Jahanbin P. Jahanbin Panford	West 88-Keys BoogzDaBeast Ojivolta Wallis Lane Nabeyin	2:25
22.	"Remote Control"	West J. Williams C. Young Yusef Pemberton K. Gomringer T. Gomringer M. Williams Cubina Njapa M. Dean Walton	West Digital Nas Cubeatz Ojivolta 88-Keys Dean Walton	3:18
23.	"Tell the Vision" (performed by Pop Smoke)	West B. Jackson Yusef Jalil Peraza Samuel Jackson Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina T. Thornton Ricardo Lamarre Thomas Whitfield Angie Martinez	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta	1:44
24.	"Jonah"	West Banks Hollins C. Young Mills Yusef Leonard Harris Daniels Wilder Suski T. Brown Glass M. Dean	West DrtWrk TT Audi Wheezy Dean	3:15
25.	"Pure Souls"	West Moore Lee C. Young Thompson Mills Saadiq Yusef Harris Trotter Plummer Flores Gwin M. Williams Cubina M. Dean Friedrich Bauss Völkel Wilder	West BoogzDaBeast Ojivolta Dean Sucuki Shuko Bastian Völkel Fya Man	5:58
26.	"Ok Ok"	West McCollum Charles Ryles C. Young T. Thornton Yusef Walsh Wilder East T. Smith Samuels Bell	West Boi-1da Bell	3:24
27.	"New Again"	West Yusef Gwin Abernathy M. Williams Cubina N. Jahanbin P. Jahanbin Robinson Njapa Jacqueline Cummings Magnus Lidehäll Salem Al Fakir	West BoogzDaBeast Dem Jointz Ojivolta Wallis Lane Mia Wallis 88-Keys	3:03
28.	"Jesus Lord"	West Allah Yusef Hoover K. Dean Lévy M. Dean	West Swizz Beatz Gesaffelstein Dean	9:33
29.	"Ok Ok pt 2"	West Charles Lee Ryles C. Young T. Thornton Thompson Yusef Walsh Wilder East T. Smith Plummer Flores Samuels Bell	West Boi-1da Bell	2:34
30.	"Junya pt 2"	West J. Carter Griffin C. Young T. Thornton Mills Yusef Walsh Trotter East Pemberton M. Williams Cubina Bailey	West Digital Nas Ojivolta Bailey	3:02
31.	"Jail pt 2"	West Kirk Warner Yusef Campbell Moylett Njapa M. Dean M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Solymar	West 88-Keys Dean Ojivolta Dem Jointz E.Vax Solymar	4:56
32.	"Keep My Spirit Alive pt 2"	West Mbogo Yusef Gwin Mulé De Boni M. Williams Cubina Abernathy Woodley Nichols Parker	West BoogzDaBeast FnZ Ojivolta Dem Jointz Woodley Nichols	3:41
Total length:				130:52

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Uncredited features

• "Jail" features vocals by Jay-Z.
• "God Breathed" features vocals by Vory.
• "Off the Grid" features vocals by Playboi Carti and Fivio Foreign.
• "Hurricane" features vocals by Lil Baby and the Weeknd.
• "Praise God" features vocals by Baby Keem and Travis Scott.
• "Jonah" features vocals by Lil Durk and Vory.
• "Ok Ok" features vocals by Lil Yachty and Rooga.
• "Junya" features vocals by Playboi Carti.
• "24" features vocals by Vory.
• "Remote Control" features vocals by Young Thug.
• "Moon" features vocals by Don Toliver and Kid Cudi.
• "Keep My Spirit Alive" features vocals by Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine.
• "Jesus Lord" features vocals by Jay Electronica.
• "Tell the Vision" features vocals by Pop Smoke.
• "Pure Souls" features vocals by Roddy Ricch and Shenseea.
• "No Child Left Behind" features vocals by Vory.
• "Jail pt 2" features vocals by DaBaby and Marilyn Manson.
• "Ok Ok pt 2" features vocals by Rooga and Shenseea.
• "Junya pt 2" features vocals by Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla Sign.
• "Jesus Lord pt 2" features vocals by Jay Electronica, The Lox and Swizz Beatz.

Deluxe edition

• "Keep My Spirit Alive pt 2" features vocals by KayCyy, Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine.
• "Remote Control pt 2" features vocals by Young Thug and Kid Cudi.
• "Come to Life" features background vocals by Tyler, the Creator.

Samples

• "God Breathed" contains a sample of "Bell Head", as written and performed by Liquid Liquid.
• "Believe What I Say" contains a sample of "Doo Wop (That Thing)", as written and performed by Lauryn Hill for her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998).
• "Remote Control" contains an uncredited extract from the 2012 animated short film Strawinsky and the Mysterious House.
• "Heaven and Hell" contains an uncredited sample of "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth", as performed by 20th Century Steel Band.
• "Lord I Need You" contains an uncredited sample of "Make Me Over", written by Anthony Charles Williams II, as performed by Briana Babineaux.
• "Life of the Party" contains a sample of "I Was the Life of the Party", written by Norma Toney, as performed by The Dramatics.
• "New Again" contains a sample of "As 1", written by Jacqueline Mapei Cummings, Magnus Lidehäll and Salem Al Fakir, as performed by Mapei.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Musicians

• Syleena Johnson – additional vocals (1)
• Dem Jointz – additional vocals (2, 10, 24)
• Sunday Service Choir – additional vocals (2, 5, 11, 15, 18, 20, 27)
• KayCyy – additional vocals (5, 11)
• Donda West – additional vocals (6, 15)
• Fivio Foreign – additional vocals (8, 25)
• Buju Banton – additional vocals (10)
• Stalone – additional vocals (10, 15)
• MUSYCA Children's Choir – additional vocals (15)
• The World Famous Tony Williams – additional vocals (15)
• Larry Hoover Jr. – additional vocals (17, 27)
• Briana Babineaux – additional vocals (20)
• Sam Barsh – keyboards (5)
• John Mease – keyboards (5)
• Daniel Seeff – bass (5)
• Cory Henry – organ (11)
• Brandee Younger – harp (12)
• Darius Woodley – drums (16)
• Rico Nichols – drums (16)
• Mark Williams – piano (22)
• Nikki Grier – choir arrangement (2, 5, 11, 18, 20, 24)
• Jason White – choir arrangement (2, 5, 11, 18, 20, 24)

Technical

• Maurizio "Irko" Sera – mix engineering, master engineering (all tracks)
• Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawsøn – record engineering (1–9, 11–18, 20–22, 24–27)
• Enzo Rarri – record engineering (1, 3, 23, 27)
• Will Chason – record engineering (1, 4, 6–9, 15, 20, 23, 25–26), assistant record engineering (12–13)
• Ronald Lark III – record engineering (2)
• Gimel Keaton – record engineering (2, 24)
• Josh Berg – record engineering (2–27)
• Mikalai Skrobat – record engineering (2–18, 20–22, 24–27)
• Roark Bailey – record engineering (3–9, 12–13, 21, 26)
• Dem Jointz – record engineering (10, 15)
• Drrique Rendeer – record engineering (4, 13, 17, 27)
• James Kelso – record engineering (4, 13, 17, 27)
• Jonathan Pfarr – record engineering (12, 15, 20, 24)
• Randy Urbanski – record engineering (3, 20)
• Lorenzo Wolff – record engineering (4)
• Shin Kamiyama – record engineering (5)
• Zack Djurich – record engineering (5)
• Jesse Ray Ernster – record engineering (5)
• Devon Wilson – record engineering (5, 6, 10), mix assistance (6)
• Wilson "Zaigo" Mejia – record engineering (7)
• Gentuar Memishi – record engineering (8)
• Henry Russell Walter – record engineering (14, 22), vocal editing (9, 26), vocal production (12)
• Preston Reid – record engineering (10)
• Angad Bains – record engineering (12)
• Federico Vindver – record engineering (15), vocal production (15)
• Nagaris Johnson – record engineering (15)
• Todd Bergman – record engineering (15, 20)
• Kalam Ali Muttalib – record engineering (16)
• Rashade Benani Bevel – record engineering (16)
• Jess Jackson – record engineering (19)
• Scott McDowell – record engineering (23)
• Rafael Fai Baautista – record engineering (26), mix assistance (26)
• Louis Bell – vocal editing (2–8, 10–12, 14, 16–18, 20–22, 24–25, 27)
• Patrick Hundley – vocal editing (3–5, 9–11, 13–14, 16, 21, 24, 26–27)
• Stef Moro – mix assistance (3, 22)

Charts

Chart performance for Donda

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	1
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)	1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	1
French Albums (SNEP)	1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	4
German Albums (Top 20 Hip Hop)	1
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)	1
Irish Albums (OCC)	1
Italian Albums (FIMI)	1
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)	21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	38
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	28
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)	2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	2
UK Albums (OCC)	1
UK Christian & Gospel Albums (OCC)	1
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	1
US Billboard 200	1
US Christian Albums (Billboard)	1
US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard)	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Donda

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)	Gold	10,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	Gold	7,500
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	60,000
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• 2021 in hip hop music
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2021

External links

• Donda at Discogs (list of releases)