The Donda 2 Experience has wrapped in Miami and the entire world tuned in. Kanye West has stolen attention for months with his Donda and Donda 2 releases, and this latest live show has outdone his last. We’ve watched as West has nearly broken the internet with each new social media post over the last few weeks as he targeted Pete Davidson and pleaded with estranged wife Kim Kardashian to rebuild their family. Ye has taken a break from those antics to refocus in album mode and tonight, he was joined on stage by his Donda 2 collaborators as well as his choir.
The event streamed for free on West’s YouTube channel, although it arrived over two hours after many believed it was supposed to have begun. The set was completed with a house that was surrounded by shallow water, and as each song played, the Rap mogul’s peers came forward one by one.
Alicia Keys and Fivio Foreign performed “City of Gods” with the singer tickling the ivories, but that wasn’t the only surprise. The Game, Migos, Jack Harlow, Marilyn Manson, and DaBaby showed face, and features on Donda 2 also include Soulja Boy, Future, a posthumous look from XXXTentacion, and many others. Unsurprisingly, many of West’s lyrics were about his divorce from Kim as well as the world’s responses to his comments. There was also a sample of Kim’s Saturday Night Live appearance, Vice President Kamala Harris’s “We Did It Joe” meme, as well as a tribute to the late Virgil Abloh with the bar, “I stopped buying Louis [Vuitton] after Virgil passed.“
Although the performance didn’t seem to have any major setbacks, there was a bit of an audio issue toward the end. As Fivio was performing live with the track, there was a delay for those watching from home. It made for a dislodged sound between the track playing and what the rapper was saying on the mic, so much so that people complained about it on social media. There was also an issue during his performance with Manson and DaBaby, prompting West to throw his microphone and continue on without it, thus prompting a new hashtag about all of the engineers being fired from production.
Meanwhile, Donda 2 is yet another emotional outpouring of West’s thoughts and emotions, and much of the album teetered the lines 808s & Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Fans will be able to stream this one on West’s Stem Player and it is surely going to be a moneymaker for the Rap mogul.
Check out highlights and commentary about the Donda 2 Experience below.