Will student opinions be in line with charting numbers?
New album releases from Kanye West and Drake stir up a friendly debate among URI students. PHOTO CREDIT: revolt.tv
Kanye West’s 10th studio album entitled “Donda” is battling the charts against Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy,” and students at the University of Rhode Island are taking sides as to who deserves the top spot.
“Donda,” a highly-anticipated collection from West, honors his late mother of the same name, and speaks to his religious passions and sudden divorce from Kim Kardashian. West held two exclusive live events showcasing the album before releasing his work at the end of August.
“Certified Lover Boy,” Drake’s sixth studio album, talks about love, truth and growth throughout his career. He features big names such as Jay-Z, Travis Scott and Lil Wayne, flaunting his success and reputation in the music industry.
Both albums reached number one on the Billboard 200 Chart, although “Certified Lover Boy” gained nearly twice as many first-week streams. Comparisons are being drawn by fans who claim that only one album can reign superior.
Sophomore Kyle Nadeau believes that “Donda” takes the cake in terms of creativity and sentiment.
“Kanye made the album to be more of an experience than Drake,” he said. “It’s all about his mom and stuff he’s been through, so it’s more personal.”
Nadeau is a fan of both artists and has listened to both albums in their entirety. He views West and Drake as influential figures for up-and-coming artists, yet overall said that Drake’s rap game is undefeatable.
“[Drake] does more rapping, and I think Kanye is more of a producer than a rapper,” he said. “I do like ‘Donda’ better, but in terms of rap alone, Drake is better.”
Despite his preference for West’s album, Nadeau said he will always be a loyal fan to Drake as well.
Spencer Asofsky, a freshman at URI, has been listening to West and Drake for years. He thinks that drawing comparisons between “Donda” and “Certified Lover Boy” is difficult, considering how each is so artistically unique.
“‘Donda’ has a lot of hidden gem moments that are more meaningful than anything written in ‘Certified Lover Boy.’ But at the same time, ‘CLB’ can hype me up way more. They’re just so different,” Asofsky said.
Overall, he appreciates the heartfelt messages embedded in “Donda” more than the lyricism in Drake’s collection.
The same goes for Louis Shriber, a freshman at URI who studies music composition. Shriber said that Kanye “blew out” Drake’s album in terms of lyrical meaning.
“Set aside from musicality, throughout his career, Kanye West is one of the most brilliant writers of the past 15 years, and that can’t change,” said Shriber. “His lyrics are fire. I like Drake, but for what I look for in music, he’s not on par with Kanye.”
So, do the charts agree with these opinions?
In just three days, “Certified Lover Boy” reached over 430 million streams, a feat that took “Donda” over a week to achieve. In terms of numbers, Drake takes the crown, but Shriber feels that the numbers do not represent the true value of each album, since the music is targeted towards different crowds.
“Drake is more of a hitmaker, meaning he writes music for more of a common listener. For me, it’s not a popularity contest, and ‘Donda’ deserves more recognition,” he said.
Both albums are available for streaming on Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL. Which would you crown as rap royalty?