Kanye West’s ninth studio album takes the artist in a radically new direction, from a complete lack of profanity to a direct devotion to God, but it fails to penetrate West’s ever-present ego.
Anyone familiar with West’s previous work would be familiar with a constant element of faith within the rapper’s music: it’s present in every album from “The College Dropout” to “Kids See Ghosts.” Over the past year, he’s even taken to performing across the country with a gospel choir, called the “Sunday Service.” For the first time, however, West has released a fully gospel-themed album in “Jesus is King,” a 27-minute project dropped on Oct. 25.
The aforementioned “Sunday Service” choir makes its presence known early in the album, opening with the fast-paced “Every Hour.” Although they appear on other tracks, like “Saleh,” this is their most prominent feature, proclaiming the coming of the Lord in a 2-minute intro. The song immediately cuts into “Selah,” an epic, organ-backed ballad with West rapping alongside the choir. Throughout the track, West references several biblical subjects, including “John 8:33,” “Abraham” and “John 8:36,” building into a dramatic crescendo of hallelujahs from the backing choir.
Breaking away from his accompaniment, West performs the next four tracks without his choir, falling into a more familiar sound for the rapper. “Follow God” features a sample from the 1969 song “Can You Lose by Following God” by Whole Truth, along with a verse from West describing both his commitment to faith and his conflicts with those around him. “Closed on Sunday” is a relatively low-key track in which West – while incorporating the cringe-worthy “Closed on Sunday / You my Chick-fil-A” refrain – encourages listeners to discard social media and technology in favor of family prayer and community building. “On God,” a track which features by far the least refined production on the record, also happens to include some of West’s most poignant ideas: he reminisces on his path to stardom, and throws jabs at the 13th amendment (West had previously been critical of the Amendment due to its allowance of forced labor for people who are imprisoned). “Everything We Need” holds some audial similarities to previous West project “Kids See Ghosts,” with vocals from Ty Dolla $ign and some singing on West’s part as well. While these tracks all provide different flavors and styles to West’s sound, none break the 3-minute mark, and they tend to melt into each other, delivering quick tastes rather than fully realized dishes.
These Kanye-dominated cuts are followed by the unique “Water,” a track which barely features the rapper at all. “God Is,” the following track, brings West back in a singing role instead, producing heartfelt and often broken-sounding vocals about how faith will save him. Although these are some of the most skillful vocals that West has released on an album, the production on both this track and “Water” becomes distracting, and they provide none of the sharpness or raw grandeur that their backing instrumentals would suggest.
“Hands On” is a mostly forgettable track where West re-elaborates on the many graces and beauties of God, set over the least interesting instrumental on the album. The track is largely bland and many listeners may forget about it quickly after listening.
Finally, “Use This Gospel,” a track which West himself promoted extensively due to its unorthodox “Kenny G feature,” ends up being an effective end to the album. Although it suffers from poor production like other tracks, “Use This Gospel” also features an effective feature from fellow rapper Clipse (who is nearly vocally indistinguishable from frequent West collaborator Pusha T) and a smooth saxophone solo from seasoned industry veteran Kenny G that is followed by an intense closeout. The track blends into “Jesus is Lord,” a quick outtro in which West quotes Romans 14:11 over heavenly sounding horns.
Overall, “Jesus is King” is a largely flawed album with a number of interesting ideas. Tracks like “Saleh” and “Use This Gospel” stick out as strong additions to West’s discography, while others like “Water” and “Hands On” drag the album down with their blandness. However, unlike other flawed projects like “Ye” and “Yeezus,” the defining concepts and ideas behind “Jesus is King” are not enough to distract the listener from these glaring discrepancies. West never explores his faith, instead opting to simply laud the greatness of God and he doesn’t reflect on the life choices that birthed this revival of religious fervor. When West isn’t being exciting or inventive, the holes in his production that have been evident since projects like “Graduation” show through. Some may say that “Jesus is King” represents a meaningful shift in West’s music and that much is true. Whether that shift is worthwhile and well-executed, however, is much more questionable.
Tucker Reilly
Features Assignment Editor
reillyt19@bonaventure.edu
