Shenseea almost ruins this song. Her coda should’ve been cut entirely. The organ sounds nice, but that whole end section threatens to drag the overall aesthetic quality down a notch.
It would be better as a Roddy Ricch song featuring Kanye West, who actually provides the best part. “Father, I’m yours exclusively,” it goes, “Devil, get behind me; I’m loose, I’m free.”
my rating : 4 of 5
2021
This, a sky-gazer’s hymn, is the best cut from Kanye West’s Donda album, but it would’ve been even better than it is if it had a more appropriate song structure. It barely qualifies as a song. There should be not one but two Kid Cudi verses with a Kanye West chorus break in-between.
That chorus, which has West conjuring the melodic chops he showcased on the demo/SNL version of Teyana Taylor’s We Got Love, doesn’t come till near the end. It’s a five-star bit though as he outsings both Cudi, who should also be praised for his wailing ad-libs, and Don Toliver.
my rating : 4 of 5
2021
1989 or 1990
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The Chant prelude sounds stupid; Kanye West should’ve replaced the whole Donda concept with something else because it’s too specific for an album that only mentions his mother in spurts; but it gets better from there. Remember when he said he was going to follow Graduation with A Good Ass Job? Perhaps that should’ve been the title here.
Donda is surprisingly good; not so good that it’s surprising but surprising that it’s good after a multi-album slump. It’s easily his best since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy thanks mostly to a bunch of songs with gorgeous beats; the best thing about gospel music is the sound of the organ; and catchy choruses. West is also a good rapper.
Some listeners will complain about the set being too long and it is. It might near greatness if it were limited to its best twelve songs. Hurricane, Jail, Moon, No Child Left Behind, Pure Souls and Jesus Lord would all have to be included. No Junya and no unnecessary Part 2 bonus remixes at the end. It would also need a proper album cover.
my rating : 4 of 5
2021
She started out by asking me a question about “God”. She was reading off of a paper or the screen of her phone to put it in the exact words she’d prepared in advance, but she was reading it too fast and monotonously, which made her sound like a novice interviewer.
I guess she was. It seems she was doing the interview as part of a school; high school or college; assignment. There was no video that I was aware of, but she must’ve been recording audio of it as another girl about the same age as her watched us from a few feet away.
I interrupted to ask what God she was talking about. Her reply implied the Christian God. “So the God of Christianity,” I said. She confirmed, which was probably weird for her because she was apparently a Christian and Christians reject the possibility of other Gods.
She continued to read a verbose question that assumed the existence of God to which I replied by saying I don’t think there is; emphasis on the word “is”; a God. She didn’t reply back. She just went on to the next question, actually a set of questions, about war and morality.
I interrupted her again. “You’re asking me too many questions at once,” I might’ve worded my complaint; “I hate when people question-pile like that.” “Hate” would’ve been too strong of a word in real life and I doubt I would’ve used a gay term like “question-pile”, but it worked.
She summarized her questions down to one that got to the point. I don’t remember her exact words, but she was asking what I thought about innocent civilians dying in wars. “I don’t care,” I said as the two girls stared at me with blank expressions; “I mean it doesn’t matter.”
I said that, though I generally thought it was wrong, it didn’t matter in any objective sense because morality is subjective. I started to ask if she knows the difference between “objective” and “subjective” before telling her I’m not going to put her on the spot and explaining it myself.
2021 ( September 05 )
