“Certified Lover Boy:”

Drake, a Canadian rapper, released his newest album “Certified Lover Boy” on Sept. 3, 2021. His album cover had emojis of 12 pregnant women with different skin tones, hair colors and shirt colors. “Certified Love Boy” has more songs on the top charts than “Donda”. On Oct. 19, Apple music had “Certified Lover Boy” as the number two album.

The album features 21 songs including collaborations with Lil Baby, Lil Durk, GIVEON, JAY-Z, Travis Scott, Future, Young Thug, Yebba, 21 Savage, Project Pat, Tems, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Kid Cudi. “Certified Lover Boy”’s top songs include “Champagne Poetry,” “Girls Want Girls,” “In The Bible,” “Fair Trade,” “Way 2 Sexy” and “Knife Talk.”

Drake definitely is sticking to what he knows with this album, unlike West. 

“I think that all his songs are about love or relationships, so I think it was pretty like on-brand for him to make [the album],” sophomore Scarlett Goodluck said.

On Oct.19, one of his top songs “Knife Talk” featuring 21 Savage and Project Pat was number four on Apple Music’s top songs list. “Knife Talk” is about experiences of street life and difficult situations.

“Donda:”

Kanye West, a long-time American rapper, released his newest album on Aug. 29 named “Donda” with an all-black album cover. His album was dedicated to his mother. On Oct. 19, Apple music had Donda as the number eight album.

Donda features 27 songs, including collaborations on all but three songs. Top songs include “Jail,” “Off The Grid,” “Hurricane,” “Praise God” and “Moon”. 

Compared to West’s previous albums, this one had something different about it. 

“I think that was kind of like branching out from songs he would normally write,” Goodluck said.

“Donda” also had a much deeper meaning behind the entire album, including the name. West’s mother passed away in 2007 due to complications during cosmetic surgery; This album was dedicated to her. The name of the album came from her name. 

“I think I didn’t necessarily like it but I think Donda [Chant] would share a really good meaning behind it because it was his mom’s heartbeat,” Goodluck said.

A song that stood out to some people was “Moon.” “Moon” is about wanting to achieve internal peace, but facing challenges while trying to achieve the goal.

“It really spoke to me,” sophomore Dana Hong said. “It just scratches one of those itches in my brain.”

On Oct.19, one of West’s top songs, “Praise God” featuring Travis Scott, was number forty-two on Apple Music’s top songs list. “Praise God” conveys a message of gratitude and putting one’s faith in a high power such as God. In the first 22 seconds, it recites a poem from “Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward,” a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks showing a more pessimistic view on life.

“Certified Lover Boy” and “Donda” both have pros and cons, but ultimately, most people seem to enjoy “Donda” over “Certified Lover Boy.”