It didn’t take long for the central theme of Donda 2, the rapper’s estrangement from wife Kim Kardashian, to make itself apparent. West emerged onto the stage as his faux home began to burn, flames and smoke billowing out from its windows. Soon, the lights were shut off, a palpably hot explosion erupted, and the show was underway. Over the course of two and a half hours, the stadium was gradually filled with the sound of a bass-heavy heartbeat along with performers donning motorcycle helmets and all-black outfits. The structure, a re-creation of West’s childhood home, has quickly become a part of the artist’s visual canon, having featured prominently in the final listening party for Donda and the first installment of the Jeen-Yuhs documentary series on Netflix. Once the doors opened at 8 p.m., audiences were welcomed to their seats with the sight of a burned building situated in a reflective pool of water. But where that gathering was decidedly minimal, a testament perhaps to Kanye’s long-expressed aesthetic affinities, yesterday’s event ran with the template set by last year’s multiple Donda listening parties and offered imagery worthy of West’s grandiosity. It’s a ritual dating back to 2016 when the hip-hop iconoclast invited audiences to Madison Square Garden and theaters to listen to an unfinished version of The Life of Pablo. If online reactions are anything to go by, the sound issues that plagued the “Donda Experience Performance” left even the most ardent Yeezy acolytes with a sense of frustration and disappointment.īut for those who were there in person, last night’s show served up more than enough spectacle that said audio hiccups - if not the appearance by Marilyn Manson or questionable sample choices - could be forgiven.ĭonda 2 is the latest in a long line of West albums to premiere through a semi-live concert component prior to being properly released. The elaborate reveal of Kanye West’s latest album, Donda 2, was live-streamed online and in IMAX theaters last night, and listeners’ enjoyment seems directly correlated with their proximity to LoanDepot Park in Miami, where the event took place.
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