My Personal Thoughts On “Donda” And “Certified Lover Boy”

By now everyone should have had a chance to hear the new albums from Kanye West and Drake. These have been 2 of the most anticipated releases of the year. Whether you are a fan of the mini-tour in promotion for the "Donda" release from Kanye, or the massive billboard campaign from Drake. At the end of the day, both of them have finally delivered the goods.

I have had the chance to listen to both of them and have come to some of my favorite songs from each one and I want to give you a little insight into what I think about the music and the releases. First of all, let me talk about "Donda", which was released this past Sunday. The project is just 12 minutes shy of being 2 hours long. The album is named after his mother Donda West, who passed away in 2007 with complications from surgery. Personally, I feel like Kanye hasn't truly been himself since his mother passed. With losing my mother in January, I know that it is an adjustment and something that you will never get over. Sure he has released new music because that is what keeps him busy, but who knows what's going on within himself.

Obviously, there was a leaked version of the album, but there is nothing like the real thing. Some of the standout songs were "Jail" featuring Jay-Z, "Hurricane", featuring Lil Baby and The Weeknd, and "Lord I need you", and "No Child Left Behind". While to me the album didn't truly live up to the hype, I had to sit back and really think about the concept of the album. If you really get the chance to listen to the entire album, you'll notice that it is more like a music score for a movie as it takes you on various paths with the different music and stories. All in all the album is a nice piece of work and you can tell that Kanye being the perfectionist that he is really took his time to put it together along with some great artists and musicians.

Now for "Certified Lover Boy", this is one that everyone was anticipating. It was so bad that there was also a leaked version of this album that almost sabotaged the rollout. His marketing campaign was perfect as there were billboards in every city of an artist who was featured on the album. He has had everyone on there from Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Project Pat, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross and that's just a few. This album is 21 songs strong and is almost an hour and a half, but it is worth it. You know what you will get from Drake as it will be a combination of singing and rapping over hot production and a well-constructed playlist lineup to tell a story through the entire album. One billboard that stuck out to me was one that was placed in Houston where it said that a Houston Hometown Hero would be featured on Certified Lover Boy. Here are some of the comments from a post on our Facebook page.

While I would have loved to have heard Trae Tha Truth as he has done a lot for not only Houston, but so many others it ended up being Travis Scott who did not disappoint. Some songs that got my attention were "Knife Talk" with Project Pat and 21 Savage, "Love All" with Jay-Z delivering one of his best verses in my opinion.  The "TSU" song for obvious reasons and "You Only Live Twice" with Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. I have often thought that Rick Ross and Drake should do a joint project together because they really flow off of one another. If you are a true Hip Hop fan neither one of these albums or artists may be for you, but if you love music and are open-minded as I genuinely try to be, then there is something for everyone with both of these new releases. Social media these days will have artists being canceled before even giving them a chance. It can also create unneeded feuds between artists who could work better together.. I like them both, sure there are more standout songs from Drakes "Certified Lover Boy", but I am one of those who have to be in a mood to listen to certain types of music and that's where I am at with these albums. At the end of the day, it is great for the culture and the fans of both artists.