Succintly summarizing the Chicago listening event held by the artist formerly known as Kanye West is no mean feat. Yes, as reiterated by his Instagram bio, Kanye changed his name to “Ye” ahead of the extravaganza on August 26, signaling the weight of the sea change that is DONDA.
Before even taking our seats, it was clear that this was no mere concert. Swarming crowds clustered the Chicago streets so densely that most showgoers wound up walking to Soldier Field, slipping out the doors of their Ubers to save time. Outside the venue, cycle rickshaws sped past merchants hawking bootleg DONDA tees and cases of Cacti.
The backstage section that lead to the suites was airless and packed, sweating attendees rubbing elbows with hustling PR reps and, briefly, Pusha T.
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Once seated, the crowd soaked in the atmosphere. Yep, Ye actually built his childhood home inside a giant stadium — rust-spattered slats and all — atop a candle-studded hill of dirt. The air was choked with humidity and rumors of celebrities in attendance — A$AP Rocky! Travis Scott! Kim herself! As if to cement the whispers as truth, Dave Chappelle showed up in the suite next door.
Over half an hour after the event was scheduled to begin, the lights dimmed and figures strode to West’s replica house. A brief, whispery DONDA tribute foretold cars and bulletproof vest-clad dancers slowly flooding the venue, envoloping the home like satelites in Interstellar. Newly-revised DONDA tracks blared as Ye and two surprise guests took the stage: Marilyn Manson and DaBaby.
Ye has plenty of his own baggage and the inclusion of the allegedly abusive Manson and homophobic DaBaby seem to have some thematic intent.
PR reps explained that “protection” is a big theme in Ye’s recent output, ranging from the DONDA-laden vest he’s taken to wearing recently to that spiky Balenciaga bear-repelling jacket (Demna Gvasalia once again offered creative direction to this event.
His flight at the second listening party? A flight to symbollically reunite to Donda, his deceased mother, whom the still-unreleased — and now, again delayed — album is named for.
Also, apparently, motifs of rebirth are an intended takeaway. Here, they were symbolized by the reconstruction of Ye’s childhood home and its metaphorical destruction by faux fire (Ye was also engulfed in real flames at one point). So, perhaps, this was Ye’s way of offering protection or a second chance, so to speak, to Manson and DaBaby, the latter of whom replaced JAY-Z’s DONDA verse in a song debuted at this event.
Thing is, who’s to say these guys deserve second chances? Fans are all too eager to embrace Ye despite his various misgivings — it’s unfortunate for this unfounded goodwill to uplift Manson and DaBaby’s tarnished reputations, especially given the weight of their offenses.
Kanye really set himself on fire and then got married within the span of 5 minutes #DONDA pic.twitter.com/q3QfbtOtd8
— shai (@PlayoffShai) August 27, 2021
After the flames that torched Ye were extinguished, another surprise: Ye strode to meet a woman shrouded in white, complete with bridal veil. Ye and the woman then appeared to renew wedding vows. Pretty notable given Kanye and Kim’s recent rocky relationship.
Plenty of other speculators thought that the woman was a heavensent Donda, returning to Earth as an angel to reunite with her son. The bridal gown doesn’t really fit this theory, but even if the woman was supposed to be Kim, it opens up a strange realm of Oedipal interpretation.
Not only is it telling to conflate marriage with an album steeped in childhood memories and motherly love, but the burning of the house and of the masculine self further read into this take. It’s certainly not intentional, of course, but the stageplay between Ye’s set and his dancing Greek chorus fueled the feeling of watching a theatrical production.
Still, the ample bible references — including Romans 8:13 — that appeared on the stadium monitors reiterated religious suppression that parlays into pent-up emotions, the kind that are all over DONDA.