Kanye West Drops off 'Donda (Deluxe)' Featuring Verse of The Year from André 3000 [Album Review]
On Sunday, Kanye West dropped off the DONDA Deluxe with more than 20 minutes worth of alterations featuring what had already been crowned song of the year after Drake leaked it, “Life Of The Party” featuring André 3000, “Up from The Ashes," “Never Abandon Your Family,” “Keep My Spirit Alive Pt. 2” with added vocals from KayCyy, and “Remote Control Pt. 2” with Kid Cudi. Before we get into the music, let us all take a moment of silence for Soulja Boy, who was still left off of DONDA despite receiving an apology from Kanye earlier this month.
“Life Of The Party” is the standout track here, which features what most likely will end up as the verse of the year courtesy of the transcendent artist that André 3000 is. This may truly be one of the saddest, and beautiful verses I’ve ever heard. The verse is so powerful, that although the original version of this song featured a verse where Kanye dissed his ex-foe Drake, Three Stacks verse still reigned supreme. 3000 may have followed the theme of DONDA better than Kanye as he asks Donda West to carry over messages to his mother who has also passed away. André then begins to think about his father, and how he’ll never really have the answers to more questions than he can count. The new version of "Life Of The Party" features a new Kanye verse, although it is a bit more underwhelming than the Drake diss: it’s ore aligned with the theme of DONDA. It’s a much more introspective verse from Ye as he speaks on how growing up in Chicago has affected his mental for good, and bad – as well as how his immense fame has clouded how those close to him view him, and how he feels like critics are waiting for him to slip up at any given moment.
The drop was supposed to be a surprise, but between “Kanye West Presents Donda Deluxe” billboards popping up in LA, and Kanye clones dressed in YZY Gap Jackets and Balenciaga shoes roaming around New York, we knew Kanye was up to something. No stranger to doing things unconventionally, instead of placing the new track at the beginning or end of the album – Ye reworked the order of the album and simply put the new tracks where he deemed fit.
