Birthed from Kanye West’s Sunday service comes his ninth album, “Jesus is King.” Since its release on Oct. 25, the LP has garnered mixed reviews due to its interesting lyrics and its deviation from mainstream hip-hop to gospel. Unlike his previous works, West’s recent ensemble conjures up memories of old school church music, which is something I can appreciate. Although I applaud West for this experimental approach to his new music, I do believe this album is both sonically and lyrically disappointing.
First, throughout the entire 11 track album, the song transitions are a bit choppy. It gives me the feeling that the album’s production was rushed. You can hear this from the very beginning with “Every Hour” and “Selah.” Perhaps this was meant to add to its artistic value, but I believe it takes away from it. Essentially, the lack of fade-ins and fade-outs did not appeal to me whatsoever.
Secondly, despite the occasional climatic use of the drums, the overall instrumentation is a bit underwhelming. For me, the musical arrangements weren’t as layered as I’d hoped. It ultimately sounds like basic 808’s over the gospel, but upbeat, instrumentals. This was unfortunate, as I wanted to hear the same complexity that I heard in the musicality of Kanye’s Sunday services. However, the choir that accompanies a few of the tracks does sound pretty amazing. It’s robust sound and harmonies are definitely one of the strengths of the album.
Regarding the lyrics, all I can say is that at best the album comes off as a zealous display of Kanye’s spiritual awakening. At worst, especially with lyrics like “Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-A, You’re my number one, with the lemonade,” the lyrics are a little silly. On the other hand, I must say that I did like how emotive Kanye was throughout the album, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who is familiar with the rapper. All in all, “Jesus is King” did grow on me, but there’s no denying that it’s not Kanye West’s best work. Surprisingly, my favorite song is “Everything We Need” and my least favorite is “Water.” At only 27 minutes and four seconds long, I definitely recommend that you give the album a listen for yourself
Written By: Jonelle Bolton
Photo: E. Cisneros
