A Rap Duel: CLB vs Donda

On September 3rd of 2021, a week and a half after Kanye West dropped his tenth studio album, “Donda”, Drake released his sixth studio album, “Certified Lover Boy”.

This is the latest battle in the ongoing war for over a decade between the two artists. Kanye, who was once Drake’s mentor, is now Drake’s biggest rival in the rap game. Drake has yet to emerge from Kanye’s shadow.

“Donda” has stronger, more meaningful lyrics and is far more poetic. From the lyrics and the beats, it is clear that West put a lot of time and thought into every song. “Donda” was born from the passing of his mother, Donda West. 

After a long-anticipated release, fans of West greatly enjoyed the album. Freshman Micah Riebel said, “Overall great album… great lyrics. “No Child Left Behind” is a song about [black excellence because] you have to stick together through hard times.” Riebel also enjoyed how all 25 songs on Donda were clean, and he believed it gave the album more meaning. “Donda [is] a way to remember [Kanye’s] mom.”

Others believe that Drake’s “Certified Love Boy’‘ was the better album. As freshman Dillon Hong states,  “Certified Lover Boy has great meaning, great flow, great story. Every single lyric was exceptional.” 

However, looking at the deeper meaning behind both albums, Certified Lover Boy proved to be less poetic and more rushed. It seems like Drake was in a rush to release just to compete with Kanye. Overall, after the heavy competition, it seems it’s Kanye who wins this battle, over who dropped the better album.