Donda vs CLB

 

In what was an exciting five days for rap music, Kanye West and Drake had both released their new albums ‘Donda’ and ‘Certified Lover Boy’. In recent years both rappers have had a history of petty disagreements which inspired fans to compare both albums. So, which was better?

When both albums released, Donda received praise whereas CLB was widely criticised, and I found myself agreeing for numerous reasons. On first listen, Donda was an emotional tribute to Kanye’s late mother whereas CLB showcased Drake’s cringier egotistic side. Donda’s production and subject matter grabbed the listener’s attention, especially on tracks like ‘Come to Life’ and ‘Jail’. In contrast, CLB lacked any real creativity and felt like Drake was following a formula to break his own streaming records, exemplified by ‘Girls Want Girls’, a dull yet commercially successful track where Drake lazily grabs a trending rapper in Lil Baby and delivers ridiculous lyrics.

However, Donda also had its low points. Songs like ‘24’, ‘Lord I Need You and ‘Tell the Vision’ could’ve been kept in the vaults and the ‘part twos’ of each song felt unnecessary. Although CLB felt boring on first listen, it grew on me and had exceptional tracks like ‘You Only Live Twice’, ‘TSU’ and my personal favourite, ‘N 2 Deep'.

Once the dust had settled, I found that both albums had similarities. Both albums were too long which led to a handful of boring songs, damaging each album’s quality. I also feel that these albums were poor compared to each artists previous releases, making CLB and Donda difficult to enjoy and go back to.

But which was better? CLB. It’s an unpopular opinion but I prefer it simply because I like more songs on CLB than Donda. There were 11 out of 21 songs I liked on CLB in comparison to the 10/27 on Donda making it a lot easier to go back to.

What do you think? Donda or CLB? and why?