Donda

Donda is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West, released by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings on 29 August 2021. This marked West’s final release with both labels. The album features a wide array of guest artists, including The Weeknd, Jay-Z, Marilyn Manson, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, Lil Yachty, Baby Keem, Playboi Carti, Jay Electronica, Lil Baby, DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, Ty Dolla $ign, Fivio Foreign, Lil Durk, Pop Smoke, The Lox, Shenseea, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, and Young Thug, with Chris Brown’s vocals included in an earlier version before the final release. The deluxe edition of the album includes contributions from André 3000, Tyler, the Creator, and KayCyy. Production was primarily managed by West, BoogzDaBeast, Dem Jointz, Mike Dean, and Ojivolta, with recording taking place at locations such as Bighorn Mountain Ranch in Wyoming and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the summer of 2021.

The album was originally set for release on 24 July 2020 under the title God’s Country, but faced multiple delays and changes before its final release. Donda blends elements of hip hop, gospel, progressive rap, and pop, incorporating aspects of trap and drill. It features both minimalist and maximalist production, with darker lyrical themes and reduced use of drums, alongside a complete absence of profanity. The themes of the album include West’s Christian faith, his personal righteousness, his separation from Kim Kardashian, and his late mother, Donda West, after whom the album is named.

Following its release, West alleged that Universal Music Group had released Donda without his approval, a claim the label denied. The lead single, “Hurricane,” was released in September 2021, followed by “Believe What I Say” and “Off the Grid” in November. The album achieved significant streaming success, with Donda recording the highest number of first-day streams for an album in 2021 on both Apple Music and Spotify. It became West’s tenth consecutive number one album on the US Billboard 200, equalling Eminem’s record, and topped charts in 18 other regions, including France, Australia, and the United Kingdom, where it was West’s first number one. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold in Canada and New Zealand by Music Canada (MC) and Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ), respectively.

In October 2021, the Stem Player was introduced, allowing users to remix the album’s tracks and add new content, although this service was discontinued the following year. The deluxe edition, released on 14 November 2021, featured three additional tracks and extended versions of two existing songs.