KANYE WEST'S DONDA LISTENING PARTY COULD'VE ONLY HAPPENED IN ATLANTA

[Animous]

 

Kanye West’s decision to host the Donda album listening party in Atlanta, which he did in front of thousands at the city’s massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday, July 22, was spiritually symbolic in many ways. As the artist unveiled his first album since 2019’s pair of gospel LPs, the untold story became clear: of Kanye and how the Black Mecca is part of his identity, even though his brand is synonymous with Chicago where he grew up.

The 44-year-old rapper and business mogul was born in Atlanta, home of both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his late mother, Donda West, during her most transformative years. The city is where she earned a master’s degree from Atlanta University, the historically Black college that was later renamed Clark Atlanta University in 1988. Donda launched her teaching career at Morris Brown College, an HBCU located in the heart of Atlanta in close proximity to the iconic Morehouse and Spelman colleges.

Her lifelong commitment was to increase literacy and decrease the dropout rates of Black youth in marginalized communities. It’s no surprise, then, that her son reserved thousands of tickets for HBCU students to attend the event for free. Kanye’s return to Atlanta is an intentional homecoming to pay homage to his mother’s legacy in the city where his life started.

 

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,000. The venue sold out in less than a week for the listening party. It attracted a crowd reflective of hip-hop’s wide reach — fans from all diverse backgrounds and age groups who wanted to get a glimpse into his 10th studio album. During the listening party, Donda’s soothing voice — via audio captured before her 2007 death — played between numerous tracks, intricately woven into the album as a theme of her legacy.

Kanye, often overly extravagant in his artistic vision, left all gimmicks and special appearances out of the main stage, which was left bare and white as snow. He even covered his face throughout the show. This was art in its simplest form, something that everyone in the audience didn’t latch on to. But the die-hard Yeezy fans embraced every track like a sermon. For 48 minutes, he had the stadium’s full attention.

As he played through the album’s runtime, Kanye roamed around the stage, lost in the music and submissive to the melodic tunes. This was about Donda. This was about the therapeutic capabilities of music. He got down on both knees and caressed the ground with his forehead multiple times during the event. Perhaps he was connecting with something bigger than just the music. Perhaps that was his moment with Donda. If heaven had a landline, he would never hang up. And in the last few years, Kanye has launched the Sunday Service series, spiritually displaying how prayer is his greatest wireless plan to connect with his mother.

The first track that played was titled “24.” (Song titles have yet to be officially announced, but a widely circulated tracklist has.) The harmonic chant “we gon’ be OK” repeated over and over again, demanding entrance into the muscle memory of the audience. It seemed like every cell phone had the flashlight turned on, which created a riveting firefly effect throughout the stadium. An audio clip of Donda played after the first song. Her first sentence was, “It feels good to be home.” At this very moment, Atlanta made sense: her beloved home where she tapped into her love for Black Excellence and helped mobilize with the civil rights movement. Donda went on to say, “You know, I am my son’s mother.” This is her way of taking credit for Kanye’s outspoken voice. She raised him to be unapologetically himself and to fearlessly speak his mind with audacity.

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