The Release of Donda 2: Bizarre but Effective?

Kanye West, now legally known as Ye West, has had no shortage of controversy as of late. In the midst of his headline-making antics, he has released his latest album, “Donda 2”. Only four short months following his last album, named “Donda” after his recently passed mother, West announced the release date – February 22, 2022 – of his supposedly groundbreaking album.

Beyond just the extremely short time needed to produce this album, which left many skeptical as to whether the quality of his music would be upheld, he also announced that it would only be released on “Stem Player,” his own music website. Furthermore, this access would come at the price of a hefty 200 dollars per person.

“I’m kind of torn about this information,” says senior and avid Kanye-listener Bobo L. “I want to support him but I can’t really pay 200 dollars for like a dozen songs.”

Luckily for the AISG community, though, West decided to hold several online events during which viewers could listen to the entire album for free. Unfortunately, though, many of the doubts that people had were confirmed by these performances.

“I kind of guessed that the album wouldn’t be that good,” says senior Isadora B. “The time he took to produce it was just too short, and it felt really unfinished to me.”

The consensus across the internet seems to be the same: this album was unfinished and not very well-received, and the price tag did not help its case. However, from a business perspective, this release was not unsuccessful whatsoever. West raked in an estimated $2.2 million in the first 24 hours of sales, demonstrating how his notoriously large – and fanatical – fanbase is not notorious without reason.

Though this was a typical (but successful) “Kanye move,” exemplifying his eccentricity and far-fetched business tactics, it has seemed to leave a bitter taste in many casual fans’ mouths, and we at The Beacon are curious to see what he does next to redeem himself.