Kanye West has been down with religion on wax ever since he asked for God to show him the way on “Jesus Walks” back in ‘04. He’s peppered his lyrics with Christianity since then but is now going full bore with his faith on Jesus Is King.
While the album is admirable for its conviction and consistency, Mr. West’s musical sermon is lacking in high-impact spirituality à la The College Dropout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCI5D5hHWt0
Jesus Is King is a refreshing change of pace for Yeezy in that it’s focused. While the Kanye of recent years has packed his albums with varying, sometimes disconnected ideas, Ye recorded this project with a single-minded purpose that makes for a digestible, cohesive listen. Whether he’s praying for blessings on “Water,” describing the Most High on “God Is” or promoting family values on “Closed On Sunday,” K. West’s musings are tied together by his passion for and love for God. The result is a record that’s low on surprises but admirably steady.
Some may understandably be surprised at Kanye West dropping a gospel album. This is a man who, six years ago, released an album called Yeezus on which he declared himself a “god.” Yet, the lyrics of Jesus Is King are dripping with sincerity.
“Won’t be in bondage to any man, John 8:33/We the descendants of Abraham, Ye should be made free/John 8:36, To whom the Son set free is free indeed/He saved a wretch like me,” he forcefully raps over gargantuan drums on “Selah.”
Ye’s honesty cannot be denied, though his lyricism is a little on the nose. He seems so focused on the message that he’s forgetting to be a clever MC. “Made a left when I should’ve made a right,” he raps plainly on “Hands On.” An exception to this simple type of rapping is “Follow God,” which features his tight flow over an impressive, elongated rhyme scheme.
The music is appealing throughout, though it doesn’t provide the feel of an epic church service. “Follow God” contains a soulful Whole Truth sample, while “Everything We Need” features a catchy, soulful refrain courtesy of Ant Clemons and Ty Dolla $ign. The opening “Every Hour” is an upbeat tribute to God, both musically and vocally.
And yet, there are only a few moments where Kanye reaches deep into his gut to create a musically and spiritually enthralling experience. He sings his heart out on “God Is” backed by elegant piano keys. The highlight of the album, though, is “Use This Gospel,” which features a show-stealing Kenny G solo, entrancing cries and a Clipse reunion heavy on duality. The cut is at once enjoyable and frustrating because it hints at what the entire album could have been like had Ye dedicated more time to this creative space.
There are more moments of high spiritual intensity on The College Dropout — a very secular album — than on Jesus Is King. This album should have and could have been as epic as it seems Kanye’s dive into his faith has been. All in all, the project is a decent affair that falls short of its potential.
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THIS IS A BELOW AVG EP. ID GIVE IT A 1 OUT OF 5 BUT IT HAD SOME MUSICAL ELEMENTS I APPRECIATED. THIS WAS TOO PREACHY AND UNDERCOOKED.
AT THIS POINT WHY IS ANYBODY EVEN WASTING TIME PAYING ATTENTION TO HIS MUSIC?
Kanye doesn’t have artistic range, historical or intellectual depth to make a great gospel album. Kanye doesn’t make much sense on many topics he is speaking or rapping about. No cap, I couldn’t get beyond streaming track 5 before turning off the album. I don’t like the album and it doesn’t mean that I’m hating on it.
Are you being serious? Have you ever listened to a gospel album? Go toss on a Kirk Franklin album and let us know how much historical or intellectual depth is on there. Also, if you’re going to rate an album, you kind have to actually listen to it, otherwise you just look like a putz “I listened to the first track and it was bad so I don’t like the album”.
Not bad I liked Water and On God the best
Not his best project seems like he’s just going a new direction
Fun fact – his first album has more tracks then his last three albums.
Fire!!!
These new albums are too short although I do like that they’re more pointed and topical. That being said, this one just seems forced and self-aggrandizing. Even if he’s going for a gospel feel Kanye still could’ve spit bars & flows instead of sing-songy tracks that sound like parodies.
Forgot to rate it.
.
Cheeks
he’ll be back to rapping about bitches and money as soon as he realizes that this project shit the bed.
All I know is I’m not going to throw shade on ye for making God fearing music. I love the album and ill be supporting til the end. Spitting about the world and he your favorite. Spitting for Christ and everybody got something to say. Sad but its the world. Keep Proving them wrong Kanye
Hes using religion as a promotional tool lol. Some of you ppl are nothing but blind sheep.
Religion as a promotional tool huh? Dudes been sprinkling in religion throughout his whole career, but now that he makes a whole gospel album, it’s for promotion. Dude doesn’t need promotion. If it says Kanye West on it it’s promotion enough. I actually think he’s in the process of creating a legitimate church via Sunday Service and this album was tracks that will be played in the church (Every Hour, Water, God Is). I’ve been reading he’s been kicking it with Joel Olsteen. He’s looking to get in on that 0% tax hustle. Just watch.
Truly religious people arent toxic narcissists and sure as hell don’t marry someone like kim Kardashian. Nice try lemming.
People have been criticizing his music for years. You act like negative criticism is exclusive or new to this album because he’s rapping about religious themes. We don’t need to blindly support the music becasue of the subject matter no matter what it is. If it sounds bad, it sounds bad. On a related note, this sounds bad. The production was terrible. His lyrics don’t look at faith introspectively at all, and he’s very surface level about everything. He doesn’t even bother trying to put together a rhyme scheme at a certain point. I didn’t like this album for purely non-religious reasons.
Not for me
27 minutes? I was wondering if I had half the tracks.
Follow god slaps
Even Jesus couldn’t save this album
Jesus is King? No, attention is king.
Kanye’s been unhinged for a long while now. This is just his latest addiction – jesus, god, religion.
I doubt it’s genuine. I believe it’s just a fad, and he’s weaponised it to create a buzz and give him sales.
Such a shame as he obviously needs to find some inner peace!
Crazy album, crazy artist. Basically yeezus the gospel album. Also I’m not sure why more people arent upset that he constantly compares himself to Jesus. I mean were talking about one of the greatest human beings to walk the earth vs a deluded narcissist.
At least Kanye actually existed
There’s evidence that Jesus existed. Whether you believe he is your lord and savior is a different topic.
I think it’s dope
Trash….
So bad…
My rating of a 2 is actually generous. I’d give it 1 1/2 if I could. This is just not a good album.
I have no earthly clue, who in their right mind, would rate this album positively.
Great album for what it is, I’m not with all the TMZ hoopla around it. 5 stars for the music
Wow didn’t take much time to rate thiz album at least it’s something different although not my topic I rather watch Life of Brian!
Life of Brian is a timeless classic. Good taste sir
Says he found God but supports that racist, ignorant, orange fuck. Married a bitch whose career is built off sex, now he’s complaining about it. Fuck this clown and all his supporters
Fuck u too
Wow lol. Your a retard. You call someone out for their skin color, literally while calling them racist haha. That’s like saying “fuck Obama, that racist black piece of shit”. See the irony? Your deranged, and your meltdown in 2020 will be HILARIOUS. BTW, Trump isn’t a racist. Everyone who calls him a racist today, was kissing his ass the past 5 decades, such as Jesse Jackson, AL Sharpton, The Clinton’s, Oprah, Ect…
Trump is most definitely a racist. But I have no urge to lose my mind and scream at a screen. Thankfully he won’t win in 2020. But republican, Democrat, it’s all the same garbage.
Dru U…. I love your comment! Ya know why? Because I’m a Trump supporter, and it’s hilarious how angry yall still are! Stuck on the plantation! Kanye is supposedly a house nigga, and Jayz, the guy who performed to help elect the Clinton’s, who passed the 90s crime bill that locked up the most black Americans ever, is the “woke” black American favorite haha. Trump passed the first step act, which helps reverse some of the laws that lead to more blacks in prison than ever.
This review was perfectly on point and exactly how i felt it was great hearing Ye with a consistent mind set of what he wanted to spit about and Use This Gospel with the Kenny G piece was my fav track as well, but the tracks still fell short of their real potential as a whole..
What ya know about soul, show ya face
Right !
Throw the whole album out
Lit ? ????
Not ? Fire emojis !!!!! Album too dope stop hating
Complete garbage. What a waste of time, start to finish.
I love titties, I love bitches, I love drama, and supporting snitches. He married a pornstar , now he loves God, but still Kim Kardashian,Can still get my rod.
This album is getting too much hate. Kanye West has been talking about his faith his whole career, and the fact he made a whole Christian album this great out of the blue is truly spectacular. I’ve heard that the minimal instrumentals on some songs such as ‘Water’ aren’t great, but I feel it fits the tone perfectly. The implements of the soulful gospel vocals are truly breathtaking. The lyricism on this project is very good and gets the point/ message across perfectly. For example, “Everybody wanted Yandhi/ Then Jesus Christ did the laundry,” is one of many clever lines in this album. If you don’t understand this line, it has 2 means. One meaning that Jesus Christ cleanses us of our sins. The other meaning is Kanye make Yandhi and wasn’t happy with the content so he cleaned it with the word of Christ and no cussing in the whole project. People seem to forget that Kanye is Kanye and how mega talented he is. The mixing is also often a complain about this album: saying its “rushes” or “sloppy.” I can understand some of the points other critics make, but I have to disagree with them about the mixing being bad. I personally heard little to no problems with the mixing. Overall, this album is a truly special piece of music and another landmark in Kanye West’s career. This album needs to be listened and thought about instead of a quick listen then pushed aside.
Bottom line this shit is trash
AINT NONE OF YA’LL GO BE BANGIN THIS EVEN CLOSE TO CONSISTANTLY AINT FOOLING NOBODY
super lame review. this album is a 5/5. fuck the haters
I don’t get why so many people are giving it one star, from a musical standpoint. It’s not his best work, but the music itself is still better than what 99% of hip hop in 2019. I get that Kanye has annoyed people with his antics lately, but some of these tracks are bangers. I can’t help feeling like some people are rating it negatively because of a negative perception of Kanye or the Christian direction of the album, not the quality of the music which, like I said, is neither wack nor amazing, but it’s pretty bold to go in the direction he went.
The short version –
This album sucks as a Gospel album and sucks as a Hip Hop album.
The long version –
This is not a gospel album but rather an album with a God theme, it lacks any sort of spirituality that would come with a gospel album and the likes of Lecrae have made much better Christian rap albums.
This is up there with Kanye’s worst lyrically and the production value is also seriously lacking, how do you have Timbaland credited on 2 tracks and yet there seems to be so much missing.
I don’t understand why Kanye would still be mixing tracks at midnight of its release.
I think a lot of people need to stop being sheep and just following this guy for the sake of it, if we continue supporting this mediocre work he will continue producing it.
I was listening to “Roses” this morning and it felt so refreshing to hear a time when Kanye West cared about his craft and wasn’t caught up in being whatever he is these days.
great album. glory to Christ Jesus
None of the songs are lyrically impressive or have any depth outside maybe a few bars on Follow God. Production had potential but it feels rushed and incomplete. Kanye is done man. He need to stop making music already he clearly ain’t about that anymore.
Loved it
Hypocrate bs.
His worst so far
Our freak Ye tells us now he a christian lol I’d rather he was in the club doin the same ol two step. Being a Kanye minion for the longest I gotta admit I was not ready for this album and sadly there is not one song I like. I wish it had Alien or the old version of Chakras / Law of Attraction. This shit ain’t for me
Laws of attraction was amazing!! There are so many things you could do with that song ie. other features, remixes. Music video!
this album may not be for you, but music and artists always change. keep digging or create your own music. only a blind freak stays in one mindset for so long. don’t expect your music to.
yoBobo I agree with you 100% and I am happy for Ye for his spiritual / musical growth. I just don’t like the songs he does at the moment.
What’s wrong ‘Ye, living in a witches coven and selling your soul to Hollywood got you feeling guilty?
why do i feel that Kanye west is clutching at straws with this one?
Should have released the instrumentals alone. And even those aren’t great
I’m just here to offset the haters
Oh poor people – all these expectations you are carrying will drag you down in life.
i try to build on what’s in front of me. not hang my future pleasure on empty hopes. great album for what it is.
Worst album of the year. I couldn’t make it through a whole song. Listen, skip, listen, skip…
I love it. I listen to everything we need a lot s well selah. It’s nice. 4/5
it was ok… not a gospel person so it was hard to relate to. I’ve listened to it once and havent been eager to play it again. The clipse and Kenny G feature was good, but i feel it was wasted on a medicore album.
JESUS IS KING…
Jesus a hoe
Productions on this album was great, the lyrics were more meh then okay and the length of the album is laughable, 27 mins to be exact. If this would have been a longer project with the same quality of production throughout, lyrics not included, this would have been a 5 out of 5. YE, come on man, your fans wanted more out of this, we know you can do it. Yeezus was a horrible project, but this came very close to your older work. We don’t need a tiny piece of a crumble of the cookie, we need the whole cookie.
Yeezus was a masterpiece. Did you not listen to Blood on Leaves?
Fire
This is pretty much every modern Kanye album. The production is good to great, then he starts rapping and you have to sit through corny lines (the Chik-Fil-A line in particular has the be the corniest one of the year) and very mediocre rapping. I’ll say this, I liked the content for the most part. 3/5 is about right
It’s clear that Yandhi was completed when Kanye did his U Turn. This makes the project feel a bit rushed as if Ye had to get it off his chest to move on.
For anyone who does not believe in God or open to the idea, this album will be a disappointment. But for those who are, the record feels fresh. He talks about different Christian subject matters in a convincing manner and there’s very little duality, it’s clear that in Ye’s eyes Jesus is King.
It also goes to show that fans will celebrate death over a banging beat, but feel uncomfortable when the issue of faith is discussed in a direct manner as opposed to Ultra light beam or Saint Pablo which are very good spiritual song.
the album is fire. I found one dud. i think for him to do a gospel album thats relateable and not preachy is epic! Kudos to Ye for his growth and thanks for delivering yet another CLASSIC
By the time he released his 10th album he will convert to Rastafarian and rap about the health benefits of pork .
Like Snoop did?
I forgot about that, plus he released a gospel album too
The album is very spiritual. It should be experienced as such. If you are nit feeling this, you are just spiritual underdeveloped.
Musical masterpiece
Spirits and Gods aren’t real. ‘Musical masterpiece’. Your brain is underdeveloped.
Proove it.
Kanye should of started the album with no intro and went right into Selah. That to me is the best track on the album. It really set a statement of look Im here and I am a changed man. He does not disappoint with the rest of the album. To me it felt like a cross between 808s, Yeezus, and Graduation. If you have not listened to it, give it a chance. Its a solid album and the time on the album keeps the pace moving. Im not sad about the 27 minutes. Almost seems like a page out of LinkinParks book with the length of the album.
Top 3 tracks
Selah
Closed on Sunday
Follow God
You gave a better review then most that I’ve read.
Gotta add Use This Gospel. That is complete fire.
man dis guy just rips it up! He might have a fat assed wife but he gots enuf talent for success. He should run wit da president and rule this land. we would all be better oof wit a guy like dat. when his song goes gettin it all like dat, your ass it be so fat. all juicy and stuff like dat. You just know he was takin about his old ladies ass.
this album is a 5/5 for me, Kayne nails it in terms of the variety of instruments and phrasing. Can’t get enough of this album.
Garbage
Today hip hop for me is a commercial junk, meaningless ramblings of mentally poor kids hoping that money will fill their internal void, but this album came from nowhere for me and made me listening to it over and over again. Kanye is not shy of religion, not a prisoner of own’s culture.
Fiyah
1star for giving Beanie Sigel some dope beats back n the day cause kanye cant rap but a gospel album makes sense cause he has lost the plot since God took his moms from him
Better than most albums ya’ll giving 4s too
One of the best albums ever made. Seriously. This will stand the test of time whereas all of these other albums won’t be ish in the future. You think anybody is checkin for “The Carters” in 5 years? LMAO. I guarantee this album will be studied and be played over and over by future artists. Ye is the most influential hiphop artist since 3K.
100 percentage