Polarizing figure Kanye West has recently released his eleventh studio album Jesus is King. After the past couple of years of controversy due to his comments on slavery and his support of equally polarizing character, Donald Trump, the hype surrounding this album was very large as West hadn’t released an album since 2018. After constant bashing from the media and fans aside, West renounced his views of politics in a tweet stating, “My eyes are now wide open and I now realize I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!”
The tweet was met with lots of hostility as many lost faith in West’s ability to think rationally and many now have a hard time supporting him. Shortly after the tweet and incident blew over, he announced his eleventh studio album to be released, Yhandi, which was set to be released just a few months after the release of his ninth and tenth record, Ye and Kids see ghosts, a collaboration project with fellow artist Kid Cudi. After the record release date came and went, many lost hope that the album would ever drop. It’s now believed that the record was scrapped by West for unknown reasons.
During this time, West began to hold ‘Sunday Service” sessions where anyone was invited to come and sing gospels. The services became a viral hit, with thousands flocking to watch and appear at the performances.
It’s clear that the album, even down to the name, takes large influence from religion and West’s bond with God.
After the year of waiting, West announced Jesus is King and came through, dropping the album after only two release date extensions.
Upon the first listen of the album, it can seem uninspired and boring, but this record really grows on you as time continues.
When you listen to the album for the first time, the flaws in this album shine through very brightly. Tracks like “Closed on Sunday” and “Water” seem boring and West’s verses seem like they don’t have a lot of thought or substance put into them. However, after giving the album another listen or just exploring the sound of the album a little bit more, it becomes clear that the song comes from an emotional and very sensitive place for West.
The main thing that seems to carry this record is the choruses of the songs. Drenched in strong and passionate singing from gospel choirs, songs such as “Every Hour”, and “Hands Up” give an uplifting and inspiring feeling to the listener.
West also returns to his roots in songs like “On God”, where he uses Funk Hip-Hop infused beats with large synths and a fast tempo on a slow rap cadence.
Despite the great qualities this album has, it does suffer from lacking in length. Being only 27 minutes in length, fans itching for more music. Fortunately, West announced a Christmas album in the works called Jesus is Born. While fans eagerly await the album in the works and mixed reviews of it bubble to the top of media stories, I thoroughly enjoyed this record. During this time, reviews spread from exceptional to uninteresting. Despite the criticism, I overall think this album is incredibly solid and revolutionary in the push for more religion-based Hip-Hop/Rap. I give this record a 7.3 out of 10.
