When Jesus Is King<\/i>, Kanye West\u2019s ninth studio album, was released in October 2019, it came with a sideshow: West announcing his conversion to evangelical Christianity and his subsequent decision to only create gospel music. In the wake of these announcements, people had plenty of questions. Was Kanye for real or was this all just a publicity stunt? Would a devout Kanye still perform his older, more hedonistic songs? Was this just another chapter in the performer\u2019s tumultuous life and career, or was this a permanent change? The one question few seemed to be asking, at least without long detours into those other topics, was the one music fans tend to care most about: how\u2019s the album?<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s let the music speak for itself (not a bad idea, since, in the words of comedian Pete Davidson, \u201cWe as a country need to agree that if it isn\u2019t over a sick beat, we don\u2019t want to listen to anything Kanye West has to say ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus Is King <\/i>announces its intentions and style with its opening track, \u201cEvery Hour,\u201d two minutes of gospel choir music from the Sunday Service Choir praising the Lord without a peep from West. This track can be seen as an exit ramp for West\u2019s longtime fans \u2013 if you hate this song, you\u2019re probably not going to care for what\u2019s to come; if you\u2019re intrigued, then stick around.<\/p>\n
\u201cSelah\u201d brings West into the picture and in many ways serves as the perfect introduction to the album\u2019s themes after the prologue of \u201cEvery Hour.\u201d With rapping that sounds tighter and more focused than on 2018\u2019s ye<\/i>, West proudly proclaims his new direction in the first line: \u201cGod is king, we the soldiers.\u201d \u201cSelah\u201d is the closest thing to a mission statement and an explanation the album gives. Referencing his announced-but-never-released project from earlier in the year, West raps that \u201cEverybody wanted Yandhi \/ then Jesus Christ did the laundry.\u201d Kanye sounds energized and bold in this song, a combination that has always served him well.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollow God\u201d sees West borrow from the themes of 2016\u2019s \u201cFather Stretch My Hands Pt. 1\u201d as he raps about the struggle and rewards of living like a disciple of Christ. Sampling Whole Truth\u2019s 1974 gospel track \u201cCan You Lose By Following God\u201d ties things together well and gives the song a nice soulful tinge that ties it both thematically and musically to the rest of the album.<\/p>\n
\u201cClosed On Sunday\u201d is probably the album\u2019s first misstep, built on the trying-too-hard metaphor equating West with Chick Fil A because he\u2019s, you guessed it, \u201cclosed on Sunday\u201d for rest, reflection, and worship. Slowing down after the more energetic preceding tracks, \u201cClosed On Sunday\u201d is a more reflective song than those preceding it, with verses which are sung instead of rapped. Kanye has proven over the years, especially on 808s & Heartbreak<\/i>, that he doesn\u2019t have to be rapping to make quality music, but this song winds up being corny instead of captivating.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn God\u201d is probably the track which has the most people questioning the validity, or at least the maturity, of West\u2019s faith. Equal parts testimony and rationalization, the song sees West crediting God for his success and even folding some of his past controversies into an unexplained bigger plan God has for his life. Cynically, you can\u2019t help but wonder if putting all Kanye\u2019s baggage \u201con God\u201d isn\u2019t just blame-shifting. Furthermore, tying his success to his newfound faith smells like the heretical-but-popular prosperity gospel, which contends that God rewards the faithful with material good fortune \u2013 a strange thought when you consider that Christians worship a Savior who was crucified. The muddiness of its intentions and plodding musicality make this track another miss.<\/p>\n
Things cool down in the second half of the album, when West starts bringing on featured friends like Ty Dolla Sign and Ant Clemons in \u201cWater,\u201d which alternates between a gospel chorus and rapped verses about finding satisfaction in what\u2019s been given, and the heavily produced \u201cHands On,\u201d with Fred Hammond\u2019s chorus framing lyrics about West\u2019s old life giving way to his new faith (\u201cTold the devil when I see him on sight \/ I\u2019ve been working for you my whole life \/ Told the devil that I\u2019m going on a strike). \u201cUse This Gospel\u201d is the most interesting of these collaborative songs, with Kenny G \u2013 you read that right \u2013 stepping into a song about hypocrisy and judgment to lend a saxophone solo that, against all odds, fits pretty well.<\/p>\n
The standout track on the album, tucked away in its second half, is \u201cGod Is,\u201d the most personal and honest song on the album. Sung instead of rapped, and backed by the Sunday Service Choir, Kanye throatily praises God for saving him: \u201cI know God is the force that picked me up \/ I know Christ is the fountain that filled my cup.\u201d It all builds to the end, when Kanye promises \u201cThis is mission, not a show \/ this is my eternal soul.\u201d Easily the most captivating song on Jesus Is King<\/i>, both musically and lyrically, \u201cGod Is\u201d also serves as a summary of the album\u2019s themes.<\/p>\n
It’s impossible to listen to Jesus Is King<\/i> without parsing Kanye\u2019s motivations. For decades now, West has made his music and his celebrity parts of a whole; his new releases are snapped up by many for the same reason they read Us Weekly<\/i>. But separated from West\u2019s personal life, as much as that\u2019s possible, Jesus Is King<\/i> stands out as an album more focused than The Life of Pablo<\/i> and more animated than ye<\/i>. While it never soars to the heights of the albums which defined West\u2019s career, Jesus Is King<\/i> proves that, aided by a new musical and spiritual direction, Kanye is still worth listening to\u2026over a sick beat, anyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":33959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7798],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-45787","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-kanye-west","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45787"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}