Late this summer, two well-known rappers, Drake and Kanye West released albums that both reached the top charts. Monte Vista hip-hop artist Jacob Gabriel, also known as The Real Backspace, and ex SoundCloud rapper Shaan Dhaliwal offer their opinions on both albums.

     West’s album “Donda” prompted many controversies due to the late release and lack of musicality, but Gabriel believes the album was able to truly highlight West’s abilities as an artist. Songs Gabriel enjoyed on the album include: “Jonah”, “Lord I Need You”, “No Child Left Behind”, and “Hurricane”. 

      Although Gabriel had very few negative things to say about Donda, he wished that the album was released on the expected date rather than at its random release time. Gabriel believes the quality of the album was very well done, but the inconsesity of the release date affects the excitement for the album. However, he did have many good things to say about the album still. 

     “The second I finished listening to both albums I just took out my laptop and started writing,” Gabriel said. “It inspires me to make my own music and it gives me ideas, not by copying the songs but by taking influence.” 

     Gabriel has always been a big fan of Drake, causing him to have high expectations for the album that weren’t exactly met.

     “Drake, he’s this legend; this god that everyone looks up to, the album was good… but my expectations were higher so I was a little bit disappointed with it,” Gabriel said. 

     With that being said, Gabriel still added some of his favorite songs to his playlist like, “Fair Trade” featuring Travis Scott and Papis Home. 

     Another Monte Vista senior, Shaan Dhaliwai, who used to be a SoundCloud rapper, had similar opinions on the new Drake and West albums. 

     Shaan Dhaliwal began rapping in eighth grade, and he has not released any music for a few years but still helps his friends with their music. 

     “There were some good songs in it [Certified Lover Boy] but it could’ve been better,” Dhaliwal said. “It had some good features like Jay Z and Lil Baby but I dont think features should carry an album.” 

     Dhaliwal felt that Drake’s album was lacking in terms of effort and he could have gone for some more unique sounds.

     For the Donda album, Dhaliwal felt West’s album was better than Drake’s because West is always making something different.

      “I liked all the songs,” Dhaliwal said. “I thought ‘Jail’ was good because it was rap with a positive message.” 

     West is constantly pushing the limits in music, which is why so many look forward to his releases, even if it’s released late. 

     “West, he’s not like any other artist so you can’t really expect anything from him, [the late release] didn’t really bother me,” Dhaliwal said. 

     Although they were both popular releases, Overall West’s album, Donda, seems to be more of a hit than Drake’s album, Certified Lover Boy.