If you told me a year ago that I’d be reviewing a new Kanye West album that’s all about Jesus for the Halloween edition of the Weekender in 2019, I’d have laughed at you. Who’s laughing now, though? It’s certainly not me, because West’s latest record, “Jesus Is King,” is simply not good.
The ironic thing about it, though, is that there are a lot of good ideas found in the short record, but they’re somehow all arranged in the worst possible way. And even when there are occasional moments of brilliance, they’re all totally undone by some of the worst, lamest, corniest bars of West’s career.
But first, some context. “Jesus Is King,” which West has (somewhat inaccurately) been billing as a gospel album, was only announced in August, more than a year after West announced another album, “Yandhi,” which seems to have been totally scrapped. There’s been some leaks of the original “Yandhi” recordings, and, unfortunately, they far surpass anything we got on “Jesus Is King.”
During what seems to be a fit of religiosity from the rapper, he announced the “gospel” record, saying that it would be an “expression of the gospel,” serving as a marked contrast from the more “sinful” music of the rest of his career — remember, this is the same man that premiered the song “I Love It” featuring Lil Pump at a porn film award show this time last year.
So after a typically-fraught release cycle, complete with numerous delays of “Yandhi” or “Jesus Is King” or whatever, the record is finally here and I can honestly say I wish it weren’t.
First, let’s talk about the good. Because, as much as I dislike “Jesus Is King,” there’s plenty of good. West is, and likely always will be, one of the most innovative producers in hip-hop. Early tracks like “Every Hour” and “Selah” just sound incredible, if we’re talking exclusively about the recording and production.
The aggressive beats on “Selah,” recalling some of the harder moments on “Yeezus” like “Black Skinhead,” serve as an interesting counterpoint to the album’s praise-filled lyrics.
Those lyrics, though, are easily some of the worst in West’s career. Before I get too far into this, I should say that I begrudge no one their faith, and have no problem with faith-filled lyrics. “Jesus Is King” is hardly the only religious record I listened to this year, so my issue with the lyrics has nothing to do with West turning to God.
The problem, though, is that West seems to have lost all ability to rap. It’s already become a meme, so I’m sure you’ve already heard about it, but “Closed on Sunday” is a ridiculous love song about how great Kim Kardashian is by… comparing her to Chick-fil-a?
“Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-a,” West raps. “You’re my number one, with the lemonade.” It’s just embarrassing. It very quickly begins to feel like West’s newfound faith isn’t built on anything foundational, but rather that he’s simply grasping at straws to mention anything vaguely Christian. It only took him four songs to cross Chick-fil-a off the list.
Everything about the record’s lyrics feel hollow. West takes on a holier-than-thou attitude, rapping about his love of Christ, but still takes a few moments to display how badly he understands what being Christlike means — he brags early on in the record about getting into fights with both his father and his limo driver, hardly spreading a message of love.
His religious beliefs feel about as hollow as his political ones. Last year, West made plenty of headlines with his very vocal (yet mostly incoherent) love of President Donald Trump, along with a baffling criticism of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution — you know, the one that makes slavery illegal. West makes an equally baffling reference to this earlier statement on track “On God,” where he says that that belief is “on me,” but it’s not clear at all if he’s recanting it or still standing by it.
Lyrically, “Jesus Is King” is an incoherent mess, showing that West’s religious beliefs are as baseless as his political ones. It’s a new obsession, but nothing has changed for him. He’s just as much of an egotist as he always is — as I write this, a story broke about how West believes God is using him “to show off” after God “gave” West a $68 million tax refund.
The world has plenty of problems, and I sincerely hope that, if there is a God, he’s more worried about the rest of us than Kanye West’s wallet.
