Kanye’s long-awaited “gospel album” ascended to number one upon release – does it deserve the praise?
Announced in September 2018 as Yandhi, Kanye’s ninth studio album was always intended to have a spiritual theme. While his newfound kinship with the Trump crowd undoubtedly has something to do with the evangelical influence, West has been dropping references to Jesus since his debut The College Dropout, so there’s a degree of gravity to him actually tackling religion head-on.
Jesus Is King isn’t exactly a gospel album, nor is it a massive departure from Ye’s previous work as hip-hop is clearly still the overriding flavour beneath the samples of praise and Bible-based lyrics. Still, it works and the end result is a pretty clever batch of songs, even if the quality varies throughout.
The beginning of the LP feels like stepping straight into church mid-service as rich vocals from Kanye’s new Sunday Service Choir group flood your ears. This track, Every Hour, is the only one on the album that you could consider bonafide gospel. It’s an ambitious yet beautiful way to open the record and while it does feel a little repetitive, the sheer talent of the choir and musicians cannot be denied.
Things transition closer to West’s house style with the following song as he takes the reigns and leads the song with his own bars. However, what makes Selah a real powerhouse is its earth-shaking drums and exalted backing vocals, both of which grow and grow in strength until they fade out. It’s an impressive piece of music but ultimately feels unsatisfying as the build-up serves no purpose other than to set up the following track, Follow God.
Luckily, the build-up is entirely deserved – Follow God is by far the best part of Jesus Is King and completely fulfils expectations surrounding the potential this work had. The contrast between the backing Whole Truth samples and Ye’s own tight, powerful flow makes for a gorgeous blend of genres. Lyrically, it doesn’t feel limited by the Christian theme that often feels shoehorned into the rest of the album and is overall a prime example of the artist at his best.
Wouldn’t it be nice if this level of quality was maintained for more than three songs? Jesus Is King takes a drop in quality so deep with Closed on Sunday it’s almost a baptism into mediocrity. Not only is “Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-A” an actual line, Kanye decides to open the song by saying it twice and conclude it by squealing the name of the homophobe-ran fast-food chain like a chicken. Must be one specifically for Ye’s new Republican pals.
Jesus Is King begs the question: can you separate the art from the artist if the art itself is a direct statement about who the artist is? Hearing West describe himself as a man of God and rapping about the 13th Amendment in On God in the wake of his support for Donald Trump and repugnant comments about slavery makes you roll your eyes at what would otherwise be a return to the high standard of the first few songs.
While the problematic side of the album remains, the next three tracks, Everything We Need, Water and especially God Is are also very well-crafted pieces of music. The harmonies, bars and instrumentals are all on top-form and further prove that the borrowing of gospel tropes was a great stylistic choice.
Hands On and Use This Gospel, the two penultimate songs, each stand out as unique and potent works. The distorted backing vocals of the former blend gracefully with the atmospheric violins and elevate Kanye’s rap. The latter uses the same immersive vocals, but occasionally goes silent to frame Kanye and his fellow rappers Clipse and Kenny G. To top it off, Use This Gospel has a heavenly sax solo near the end that guides us towards the grande finale, Jesus Is Lord.
With its rapturous trumpets, Jesus Is Lord feels as if it’s going to be the most powerful part of the 27-minute song-cycle – the holy arrival that the rest of Jesus Is King has been paving the way for. Unfortunately, the closing track ends abruptly after a mere 49 seconds, making this delayed-release feel unfinished and unsatisfying.
Yet, beneath its flaws and despite the unsavoury aspects of West’s own character, Jesus Is King is indeed a very good album. There’s lots to marvel at here, with Follow God being the high-point. Kanye claims he’s only making gospel music from now on, so here’s hoping we get something just as creative but a little more polished when follow-up Jesus Is Born drops on December 25.
Score: 7/10
Words: Jamie Morris
Photo Source: Flickr