[Album Review] Kanye West - Jesus Is King
Some thoughts on the newest Kanye West album
So ever since I attended the Jesus is King: Chicago listening party a few weeks ago on 9/28/19, I’ve evidently become the ‘Adrian Wojnarowski of Kanye West-related news’ for enough people in my life that many of them are asking what I thought of the album, now that it’s finally out.
Most of the time when this many people from various parts of my life text me about one particular thing, it’s usually about the incompetence of the Chicago Bulls:
Still, I’ll give this a crack.
Not to make this about me - (and of course if you missed when I very much made this about me last time, HERE is my recap of the aforementioned listening party) - but I often struggle to understand what people are really asking when they want to know “what you thought” of something.
For many, it’s a test to see if you’re willing to engage in the tango of reciprocity – so that after giving your two-cents, you can ask them what they thought about it. I actually think this is healthy to an extent, as a great deal of our media consumption in this “binge-watching” era is done without the proper amount of digestion or reflection on the art that was just consumed.
But really, what I think most people are asking is this:
Should I - or should I not - spend twenty-seven minutes of the utterly nonrefundable currency that is my time on this Earth, and invest it in this album, because thoughtfully consuming such a potentially revelatory piece of art might meaningfully affect the rest of my time on this Earth in the form of:
some sort of social currency, allowing me to participate in what might become a national conversation
recent examples that comes to mind: the Joker movie and the Dave Chappelle Netflix special
a more nuanced perspective on my own existence as a person, or at the very least ,
a couple new bangers to play beer pong to.
With this in mind, let’s dissect.
1. Every Hour (feat. Sunday Service)
*this song was not played at the listening party I attended, so this was my first time hearing it.*
I think a crucial part of the first track on an album – and similarly, the first five minutes of a movie, or the first few pages of a book – is to assure the audience that they’re in good hands.
Something with the subtext of, “Hi. The creator of this work put a lot of thought and effort into it. They also understand you could have consumed LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD other than this thing, and so thank you for choosing this. I’ve got this - let’s rock”.
It’s the feeling I get 9 seconds into Ultralight Beam, when those grand, soothing chords come in.
It’s the feeling I get from the booming F Major chord 23 seconds into Dark Fantasy, the one that makes a statement while it is hammered out, cuing the choir of angels that follow.
Even those cooing “I know, I know, I know”'s that open I Thought About Killing You on Ye give me this feeling, in their own brooding and more somber way.
This song does not give me this feeling.
First of all, pretty audacious move on Kanye’s part to open what is already a remarkably short and delayed album with a song that he appears not to be personally involved with in any form.
Something I often listen for in a song is determining how much fun it would be to play that song, instrument by instrument. I love the piano here. The rising arpeggios that underscore the “EVERY HOUR/ EVERY MINUTE/ EVERY SECOND” refrain (which occurs at the beginning, the 1:14-1:24 minute mark, and the end of the song) just seems really freaking fun to play!
It would also be really fun to be in this choir (although is it me or are they a tiiiiny bit flat?)
The main – and only, really – lyric here is:
“Sing 'til the power of the Lord comes down”
I’m reminded of a visual engraved in my head from the Sunday Service documentary (whose reviews have been “mixed”, to say the least). I wrote about this already, but for a mini-refresher:
We see a choir director, shot in black and white… The room echoes as his off-screen choir bellows and belts. He is giving his full body to the song, to the spirit, as if the energy of this chorus is being sent through the hole in the sky to God himself. Trying to awaken him or generate his curiosity, so that in hearing their beautiful praises he might be nice enough to answer their prayers.
Or maybe God is entering through the hole and manifesting himself through the choir director’s body, and into the music. But probably a little bit of both. It’s hard to deny this isn’t actually happening. The scene, even at 10 decibels too loud, is that divine.
That energy feels familiar here. The piano and choir, by their powers combined, are trying to create a similar effect here. Only this time, they’re largely failing to garner the listener’s interest.
Selah
I like the drums that punch up the ends of certain stanzas, but this song is pretty disjointed.
Follow God
I think the opening verse contains some of the laziest bars Kanye’s ever written, and this is a guy who literally mumbled his way through 30 Hours and Ghost Town.
Closed On Sunday
This has to be the only rap song that opens with the kind of vocal scatting typically followed by the phrase, “and that’s what you missed...on Glee!”
The guitar passes the “would I want to play this?” test, and the production - doo-wops aside - is mysterious and heavy. Things get interesting around 1:30. That’s when Finn and Puck are replaced by blaring, alarm clock-esque chords, giving the song some frantic urgency. The lyrics get more interesting, too, but they could have been more impactful had Kanye truly “gone for it” in his guttural, raw chest voice rather than his timid head voice. The end is a curious choice.
On God
Meh.
Everything We Need
I prefer this version from Coachella. The staccato “Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!” was more comforting than the Who-ing going on here. Ty Dolla $ign is out of place.
Water
...I also prefer the version from Coachella. It sounds more authentic and less, “written by Childish Gambino”, if that makes sense?
God Is
*had not heard this song before either*
Okay, the moment at the 36 second mark is the exact type of moment I was describing earlier! I’m sure you felt it too. It reminds me of when the beat drops in Int’l Players Anthem.
The chords and choir in this song are beautiful. Here, Kanye’s head voice is tender, aching even.
But boy oh boy are some of these lyrics rouuughhhh.
These are the kind of bars the kid at the middle school talent show does in slam poetry form and you all kind of look at each other going, “damn, we really shoulda been nicer to this kid”.
I mean..
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, all the things He has in store
From the rich to the poor, all are welcome through the door
I will say, these lyrics stood out to me:
This a mission, not a show
This is my eternal soul
As did these, for a different reason:
Jesus saved me, now I'm sane
Hands On (feat. Fred Hammond)
The production actually feels cohesive here! I love that little noise that occurs every four measures, the C#2 bass note that sounds like a bleating goat. It hits me somewhere deep. I also love the voice effects in the background. The outro, lyricism aside, is a nice touch as well.
Use this Gospel (feat. Clipse, Kenny G)
The verse from Pusha T here just does not work. I usually bank on his features taking over a song (even an album, in the case of Brother’s Keeper). But this one just misses the mark, and is completely off the beat (dare I say ‘crooked as Vegas’?). Still, the hook alone saves this one.
Also maybe a cheap shot but I feel like No Malice coming out of retirement for this verse was a bit like Joe Johnson signing with the Pistons this year only to be waived before the season even started?
So, so cluttered and misguided. Why a saxophone of all instruments?
And poor Kenny G. There is no flow at all in the hard pivot into his solo. It’s nice, sure, but now the song feels like some sort of SNL sketch where the writers are just chucking a bunch of celebrities into the script so everyone can show off a niche impression they’ve been working on.
Jesus is Lord
I like the horns here, and it builds nicely, but what is this doing as a closer to an album??
So yeah. This is a pretty big disappointment.
I remember a quote that goes something like, “You spend your whole life writing your first album, and only 18 months writing your second”. JIK is that axiom played out to the nth degree.
Some of these songs weren’t on the album I heard three weeks ago (!). And many that were (Up from the Ashes and LA Monster off the top of my head), are now not (!!).
What is going on here??
I’m reminded of the “I Love my Wife IGH!” guy on Twitter, who made fun of The Big Day. I feel like you could substitute all instances of “My Wife” in that clip with “God” to parody this album and not much would change in its accuracy.
Something worth pointing out -
It’s hard not to comment on the similarity between Kanye here and post-TBD Chance. Chance was juuust publicly flamed for making a prideful album about loving his wife and wanting to share that with the world. Now with this album, Kanye is basically doing the same for something he loves equally as much (God). Predictably, the reception to both albums has been similar.
It’s hard to find the line where Chance / Kanye’s lack of artistic self-awareness ends, and the general public’s cynicism about love and marriage and faith and Jesus begins. Clearly, the two do not coexist well. Obviously the sample size here is too small to draw a meaningful conclusion, but is it possible the public is a little bit jealous of the type of love and fulfillment these two have claimed to achieve? It’s so much easier for us to roll our eyes and cringe, distancing ourselves from the implications of their words, than it is to actually consider they might really, truly believe what they’re saying. Still, something about this particular album reminds me of a crude, old joke I once heard about religion:
“Religion is a lot like a penis - feel free to be proud of yours, but it’s probably best to keep it to yourself and definitely don’t force it down my children’s throats”
I think I’m also a little frustrated because so many people (voluntarily) spent a year and a half (or more if you followed the whole process of what would become TLOP) doing mental gymnastics to justify still having faith in Kanye, and in return they got a 27-minute, sloppy album. People (including me) are putting more thought into their reception of the album than he did into making the album. Jesus is King ultimately feels like a slap in the face to a fanbase who spends more time defending you than they do listening to your music.
As for our original question:
Should I - or should I not - spend twenty-seven minutes of the utterly nonrefundable currency that is my time on this Earth, and invest it in this album, because thoughtfully consuming such a potentially revelatory piece of art might meaningfully affect the rest of my time on this Earth in the form of:
some sort of social currency, allowing me to participate in what might become a national conversation
recent examples that comes to mind: the Joker movie and the Dave Chappelle Netflix special
a more nuanced perspective on my own existence as a person, or at the very least ,
a couple new bangers to play beer pong to.
Probably, but not as much as you might expect
Probably not
Follow God, On God, 50% of Use this Gospel
Thanks for reading :)
Feel free to comment below with your thoughts as well.
I’m curious what anybody, religious or atheist, casual fan or Yandhi truther, has to say about this album and its accompanying baggage.
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