The Donda Protocol: How Kanye West Was Engineered to Believe He’s a God

"So many sides of Kanye, so many aspects of his life people don't know about" -- says Donda West, Kanye's mother, at the beginning of jeen-yuhs, Netflix's docuseries on the rise of Kanye West.

As we’ll soon discover, Donda was the only person capable of truly tethering Ye to reality, even at the height of his fame.

On another occasion, she told her 12-year-old son: "Kanye, I love you, but I don't like you. I don't like the way you're acting. I don't like the way you have regard for no one in this house but yourself, and you must stop it, now", which shows that Kanye loved himself from a very young age -- and a large part of this mindset came from how she raised him.

Ye expressed this later in his life on many, many occasions, saying things like: "I am Shakespeare in the flesh".

Ye always had a... special connection with God.

DR. DONDA WEST, Radical Self-Love & the Mother Figure

Now that we know how much Kanye loves Kanye, and how big his ego is (more on that in a bit), we can start to see how much influence she had on him -- and how deeply he loved her, too.

Donda was a single mother -- her husband, Ray West, divorced her when their son was three years old. But to be fair, Ray West wasn't entirely absent from Kanye's life. Donda understood that a father figure is just as important -- she made sure little Kanye spent summers with his dad, and was consistently surrounded by his grandfathers, uncles, and her partners. She mentioned that these men provided a specific type of toughness, boundaries, and showed Kanye how to "flex his manhood" in ways he couldn't have learned from a mother alone.

In his own words: "because of who she is, I am able to be who I am", and this alone shows what his mother meant to him, but we're here for a good time, not a short time -- so we'll dive much deeper.

When writing "Hey Mama", he spent months perfecting it because "I wanted to make it as great as she is", and on another occasion, he said, "I wanted to tell the whole world about our friendship and how it came to be... I wanted her to know how much I appreciate her for the way she raised me".

He immortalised her across his discography, with lyrics like "My mama told me go to school, get your doctorate / But still supported me when I did the opposite", but his most direct tribute came in 2021 with his tenth studio album, featuring a plain black square cover, called DONDA.

Cover of "Donda", a graphical masterpiece.

"I remember one time we were having a discussion about proper English. I was saying something and asked her if it was proper. She told me it depends. Language is situational." -- Ye recalled, "If you're in a room full of people and everyone is speaking Ebonics and you break out with the Queen's English, super proper, then even if you're speaking so-called correct English, you're not correct. To communicate effectively, you have to speak so that people can understand you."

This philosophy has stuck with him throughout his career -- and it still holds up.

Alright. Enough talking. Let's get to the real MEAT.

Donda was an English Professor by trade, and given her academic background, I like to think of her not JUST raising Kanye (as if it were not a challenge on its own), but ENGINEERING him. Engineering a genius, a complete outlier. An artist with reality-bending confidence. Or as he called himself -- a god.

Carrying the genius.

Kanye was born in 1977 in Atlanta, but moved to Chicago when he was 3 years old, and considers it his hometown -- as he puts it in Homecoming:

"I met this girl when I was three years old
And what I loved most, she had so much soul
She said, 'Excuse me, little homie, I know you don't know me, but
My name is Windy and I like to blow trees' "

Radical Self-Love

Both cities were major centers of Black life in the 70s and 80s, but in Chicago specifically, racism was a significant problem -- not just on an individual level, but on a systemic level (housing segregation, redlining, economic inequality).

I’m not an expert on racism or American social issues, but Donda recognized that this came not only from society, but also from the media, which was designed to crush the spirit of young black men by feeding them negativity and low self-esteem.

She actively encouraged Kanye to love himself fiercely -- a form of psychological armor. As she wrote in Raising Kanye, she ensured his childhood was filled with "love, adoration, and congratulations" -- making him feel ‘rich’ in spirit despite limited material wealth. She called it "the courage of Malcolm, the wisdom of Martin," placing her son in the same lineage as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

Kanye promoting The College Dropout with his Drop-Out Bear, NYC, 2004

High expectations, but without breaking the spirit

Look, I know what you’re thinking. I can hear you now: "Kanye's mom loved him, so he had the easiest childhood and was chilling all the time!".

Well, if that were the case, I wouldn't call Donda a great mother, and I think her book about raising Kanye should be a mandatory read for all parents.

Yes, she had unconditional, unlimited love for Kanye, but she balanced it out with an absolute demand for excellence.

It's described (I love that) as setting the bar so high that it not only required him to do HIS best, but to BE the best.

The thing is, if you want to achieve great things in life, just trying your best is often not enough. Yes, you will try and fail, and win some, and lose some, but the real EXCELLENCE is in the state of BEING.

Bringing this back to business for a moment -- since this is largely a life & business blog, and not a Kanye biography -- you'll come to me and say: "I have the best sales skills in my company but others earn more!". Yes, okay, that's cool. You have skills. But ARE you THE BEST?

I am obsessed with the idea of BEING -- we'll need a separate article for that, but essentially what Donda is telling you here is... You have to love YOURSELF before you can love anyone (or anything else), and you have to DEMAND from yourself to be THE BEST.

Album cover of "Ye"

I hope Dr. Donda's ideas are already worthy of your appreciation, but if -- for whatever reason -- not, Kanye lends a helping hand.

On the track with a beautiful name: "I Thought About Killing You", Kanye raps:

"The most beautiful thoughts are always beside the darkest
Today, I seriously thought about killing you
And I think about killing myself
And I love myself way more than I love you, so…
See, if I was tryin' to relate it to more people
I'd probably say I'm struggling with loving myself
Because that seems like a common theme
But that's not the case here
I love myself way more than I love you"

So, if you were still not convinced about Kanye's self-love: YES, he loves himself. More than he loves you. And he identifies that most people struggle with it, and I personally can't get over what a fantastic lesson Donda is teaching here.

And while this track is criminally underrated, I think it speaks volumes about Donda's teachings. He later raps:

"I don't do shit halfway, I'ma clear the cache
I'ma make my name last, put that on my last name
It's a different type of rules that we obey
Sorry, but I chose not to be no slave
Even when I went broke, I ain't break"

Do you notice now? I love myself. I love myself more than anyone else in the world. BUT I don't do shit halfway. I'm the best. You're not -- we obey different rules. I CHOSE not to be a slave.

Radical self-love, highest expectations, highest state of BEING, and controlling his own fate -- which the media used against him, after his infamous "slavery was a choice" comment. But it's the base of his philosophy, of course he would say that.

And even more than that! I assure you Donda would agree with that. On another occasion, when G.W. Bush was still in the Oval Office, Kanye made a controversial statement after Hurricane Katrina.

Donda was quick to back him up: "Kanye, I heard you said that the president doesn't care about black people... You told the truth. I'm proud of you".

In the sea of self-love, don't forget about the others.

One more line from the same track: "I think this is the part where I'm supposed to say somethin' good to compensate it so it doesn't come off bad"

Remember what Donda said about the choice of words? There's a lesson in standing by your word, too. As Donda said, she instilled the belief that: "refusing to conform and even confronting is not only appropriate but necessary to change the world for the better".

All this radical self-love came with a counterweight. Donda demanded just as much from him as she gave.

Donda recalls when Kanye came home with a report card full of A's and a single B. You think she praised her son? Nah, she said: "but why did you make a B?", to ensure he would never settle for a B again.

Donda doesn't seem too happy with Kanye's B grade.

And, again, I can hear some of you going: "Yeah, but my parents also criticized me for getting a B" -- alright, but did they teach you about the importance of SELF-LOVE? No? That's the missing part. They did? Ok, congrats, you had a fantastic upbringing -- so why haven't you become Kanye yet?

Another thing that separates Donda from most parents is that she fundamentally rejected the idea of beating children into submission. She found that a calm explanation and welcoming the child's feedback were effective 99.9% of the time.

Kanye always had the freedom to question, which -- I believe -- allowed him to be a real thinker rather than just another sheep. His mother actively encouraged him to disagree, question and express his feelings freely BUT without disrespect or raising his voice.

Ok, to summarise this -- very long -- bit, what you should remember are the fundamentals of Kanye's upbringing: self-love, reasoning, freedom to question, calculated expectations (getting A's is not that unhinged!) and rewards, when they're earned.

Creativity, Defiance, Exposure & Perspective

Another thing I agree with Donda on is her belief that children possess innate wisdom because they are not yet bogged down by societal rules dictating what they "cannot do".

She actively avoided teaching her only child traditions that fostered "fear and insecurity".

And I want you to focus on the word ACTIVELY here. Every fundamental thing Donda did was INTENTIONAL -- she wasn’t waiting around to see what society or some political party had in store for him.

She ACTIVELY learned, figured out, and applied fundamentals she believed in.

There’s a classic story about his creativity: when young Kanye colored a banana purple and an orange blue -- she didn't tell him it was wrong -- she nurtured his unique perspective and GAVE HIM THE SPACE to see the world exactly how he wanted to see it.

Kanye's tweets could form a separate article.

She explicitly raised him to step outside the little circles the world drew for him and to tell the "raw truth" exactly as he saw it.

Are you seeing why Kanye keeps challenging pretty much everyone? Industry gatekeepers, a President of the United States, Taylor Swift? Doesn't matter. Anyone can be called out for their bullshit in Ye's world.

The final piece of the puzzle is exposure and perspective. Donda commented that true education happens outside of a classroom.

When Kanye was 10, they moved to China, where she was teaching at Nanjing University. And rest assured, she didn't leave her son with his grandparents or cousins.

As Donda recalled, Kanye was the only foreigner in his class -- he settled in well and even learned the language.

She made sure that wherever she went, Kanye was right there next to her. Does it get any better in terms of "exposure and perspective"?

Picking up languages, experiencing different cultures, learning that there are limitless ways to live, and PREVENTING him from ever being put in a box must be one of the greatest gifts Donda gave Kanye.

EGO as a Tool

There's no better definition of ego, than Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift

When you hear "Kanye" you probably think "Ego!", but modern quasi-philosophy teaches you that ego is the enemy.

I don't agree with it, and Kanye DEFINITELY does not agree with it.

EGO is a tool. And whether you use it to your advantage or let it work against you is entirely up to you.

Nobody is born with an ego, and definitely not with Kanye-level EGO, but as you should know by now it was engineered via the Donda Protocol.

His brilliance was internalised as a baseline -- his ego completely decoupled from the idea of failure.

We're being told that we should forfeit ego and rely on external validation, and polite "realistic" expectations -- how convenient, eh?

Weaponised EGO, however, helps you OBLITERATE cognitive limits, bend reality to your will. It helps you ACHIEVE and WIN.

In 2016, Kanye suffered a breakdown and hospitalization, admitting he lost his "Black Panther, Superman level confidence" and suddenly felt like he was placed into "the simulation" -- molded, controlled, and quieted by the system.

Funny how most humans live in this simulation without a second thought.

You might have noticed how I write "ego" and "EGO". Lowercase "ego" is what you know from the media, and shitty books.

But ALL CAPS EGO is realizing the rules are a simulation and deciding you are the one who dictates reality, operating in GOD MODE, rejecting the herd, and seeing yourself as a CO-CREATOR of your own universe.

Kanye was asked once who he thought he was. He didn't blink: "I just told you who I thought I was. A god."

And trust me, having been raised by a mother as spiritual as Donda, it wasn't necessarily blasphemy.

In 2012, Kanye travelled to Paris to establish himself as a high-fashion icon, but was getting constantly snubbed by brands and gatekeepers explicitly telling him he wasn’t allowed to attend certain events.

Fucking hell, can you imagine telling Kanye he can't do something? So what did Kanye do? He kept his head down, apologised, went back to work harder and waited for permission from the elites, right?

HELL NO.

The next day, he hit the studio with Daft Punk and recorded "I Am a God". He later said: "Cause it’s like, Yo! Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go. Man, I’m the No. 1 living and breathing rock star. I am Axl Rose; I am Jim Morrison; I am Jimi Hendrix"

And well, looking at YEEZY, I think we can all agree he can call his fashion career a success.

Genius Without Permission & Autohypnosis

We already know neither Donda nor Kanye needed permission to do anything, and definitely not to achieve greatness.

Yet to have a vision that is truly ahead of its time means looking absolutely delusional to the rest of the world.

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard Kanye labelled as sick, psycho, delusional, bipolar, and whatnot. Did it change anything for him? It's just noise. A simulation trying to hold you back.

How do YOU know whether you're a genius or just delusional, though?

Well, good news: you don't. As the great philosopher William James points out -- the belief creates its verification (does "act as if" ring a bell yet?).

Kanye didn't wait for permission or objective proof to confirm his genius, and you don't need to either.

Some people call it visualisation or manifestation -- I call it autohypnosis.

Repeat your greatness until your internal belief pours into the external world.

Speak yourself into BEING THE BEST and let reality catch up with you.

"Alright Raf, so I'll just tell myself I'm the best marathoner in the world and it'll happen, right?"

Fuck no. You can't just be delusional. You also have to become technically undeniable.

And here is where the second part of Autohypnosis kicks in.

Genius has many faces -- sometimes he's an angel, and sometimes a god

ACT AS IF

Ok, you don't want to be a marathoner anymore. Now you want to be a UFC Fighter.

That's fine. You talk to yourself as if you were Conor McGregor, you see yourself at the top of the cage holding the belt.

That's a great start.

But, you also need to ACT AS IF you were already a CHAMPION. Conor McGregor, for example, lived by this.

"I am cocky in prediction, I am confident in preparation",

"When I say something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen",

"I stay ready so I don’t have to get ready"

Sounds familiar?

Yes, it's not Kanye. It's Conor McGregor.

Two more: "Train until your rivals dream about your work ethic", and "Doubt is only removed by action".

The lesson here is clear.

So-called confidence (I'm not a fan of that word) is built on long-term, consistent wins and preparation.

That said, you don't have to win a championship to collect a win.

Sticking with MMA terminology, training is a win. Sparring is a win. Even getting beaten up in sparring is a win, if you learn from it.

And if you keep collecting these small wins, day in, day out, finally when the time comes you will be ready.

Do you think Conor would say "NO" if Dana White called and asked if he wants to have a title shot?

OF COURSE NOT. He was always ready. And when the time came, he pulled the trigger.

Always keep your chin up

Back to our friendly rapper though.

Before he picked up the mic and released his first hit album "The College Dropout", he spent YEARS and countless hours in his bedroom studio mastering the craft and creating beats.

And when I say mastering, trust me -- he produced tracks for Jay Z's "The Blueprint" that sold two million copies.

And he was so obsessed with perfecting his beats -- believe it or not -- Donda almost kicked him out of the house.

Hearing his beats, she often said "Kanye, that's a million dollars right there".

Eventually, she was fed up with the noise and his friends constantly coming in and out of their house in the middle of the night.

"It's either you or your music," Donda told Kanye. "You'll need to move out or find a studio away from the house. You can stay. But all of this music and these people have got to go".

And if you think a solid track record made his transition from being just a producer to releasing The College Dropout an easy one, think again.

You’d be very wrong. Remember Paris Fashion Week? Same story here, but a decade earlier.

Gatekeepers at Roc-A-Fella -- the label he worked with -- wanted him to stay in his box, and keep producing beats for their proven artists.

Did he fumble? Of course not. He was fueled by absolute refusal to let the industry dictate his limits.

In 2002, before the College Dropout, but after the label's refusal, Kanye suffered a near-fatal car crash that left his jaw wired shut.

His "friends'" verdict? Career over. He'd be stuck behind a computer producing beats forever.

Kanye didn't succumb to self-pity, though -- he went into the studio and recorded "Through the Wire". With his fractured jaw.

Talk about turning shit into gold -- or, in this case, tragedy into a breakout hit.

The Cost of Being Yourself

Kanye breaks down in tears during an interview

We already know that, while super-important, Autohypnosis is not enough. You have to build your skills, and BE DELUSIONAL against all odds -- and often against society.

As Nietzsche says, when describing Übermensch: "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe" & "In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule".

But being delusional, or being yourself, or having an EGO comes at a price.

GENIUS WITHOUT PERMISSION inevitably walks a razor-thin line, and Kanye has fallen into pure recklessness more than once.

Ignoring the rules is crucial to break creative boundaries, but radical autonomy can devolve into a pathological ego, and the creator burns down his empire.

In recent years, Ye's coverage has been mostly negative -- from embracing White Lives Matter, to going into antisemitic media blitzes, his genius crossed into malice on multiple occasions.

And it cost him a lot.

He lost his billionaire status (the nonsense of a B-status is another thing), shattered his partnerships with Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga and then some.

I could leave you with a thought that society’s filters are not always just tools of oppression, but that wouldn't be ME.

To understand Kanye's self-destructive spiral, we need to go back to the year 2007, when he lost his mother, Dr. Donda West.

Her death robbed him of the only true, honest voice capable of challenging him.

Just like a ship requires an anchor to stay in place, Kanye required Donda to keep him sane.

He admitted: "My mom has passed, I don't know who I can trust. I can't trust nobody".

Without Donda, his echo chamber grew. There was no one to show him that he wasn’t just paying the price for his beliefs -- he was burning the house down from the inside.

Lessons?

First: Surround yourself with people who actually give a damn about you.

Second: Identify the few voices that can tell you "No" and have the guts to listen to them.

Third: Build an internal anchor. If your sanity depends entirely on one person, you're one tragedy away from a total collapse.

Being always right comes at a price.

You Can't Cancel a God

Antisemitism, hate speech, extremism, conspiracy theories -- he definitely got cancelled, right?

Wrong, again.

You can't cancel a God.

I see Ye as a Nietzschean Übermensch, and, as Nietzsche himself put it: "No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself", and "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how".

Kanye West is a phoenix. He's living, breathing proof that you can rise from any failure.

There are a lot of lessons here. Nietzsche again writes: "You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame; how could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes?".

You cannot cancel a God, because gods do not operate within the rules of the human mind.

Instead of bending the knee and apologising, Ye torches PR playbooks. In his words: "I use the world as my therapist".

By talking through his chaos, he pulls the public into his thought process, and no matter what happens -- refuses to be put into a box.

He embodies the Nietzschean philosophy of amor fati -- an unequivocal, radical 'Yes' to life, embracing the chaos and loving his fate without a single ounce of disappointment or regret.

We started this article with Donda's quote, and we will end with Donda's quote: "You have to be able to see yourself; you have to be able to see it when no one else can see it. You have to visualize where you want to be and claim it. Kanye claimed it a long time ago."

When the corporate world stripped him of his billionaire status and terminated his massive empire deals, his mental framework reframed this "cancellation" -- not as a defeat, but as the ultimate catalyst for total creative and financial autonomy.

You can take away his money, his partnerships, but you cannot CANCEL A GOD.