Take “Selah,” the album’s true kick-off after his Sunday Service Choir’s introduction, and the first inessential album opener in West’s oeuvre. Kanye’s rise is inseparable from his drive to prove people wrong: 15 years ago, a host of detractors told Kanye not to rap — he dedicated a 13-minute spoken-word outro to the struggle on his debut album — and the world would be worse off if he’d listened. Jesus Is King, an Album by Kanye West. He’s no longer poking at contradictions, but reveling in a newfound zeal. Though it will likely be placed alongside last year’s, as a distinctly lightweight entry in his canon (thanks in part to a brisk 27-minute runtime), the album reminds us that even West’s lesser work can be capable of extreme dynamism. I didn’t want to do this. Filmed in the summer of 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. And I don’t really believe in any of that. The gospel-soul sample deployed on “God Is” harkens to his early days as an in-house producer at Roc-A-Fella. . On the second episode of Arcadia, I review the latest album from Kanye West ‘Jesus is King’ as well as new (ish) records from Nick Cave & … We want to hear from you! Full Review. Featured peformers: Kanye West (vocals, producer, executive producer, composer, lyricist), Josh Berg (recording engineer), Josh Bales (recording engineer), Mike Dean (mastering engineer). 28.10.19. His rapping, though, capsizes the vessel. The year is 2019, and Kanye West, yes, that Kanye, has released a gospel-centric hip-hop album called JESUS IS KING.What a beautiful, and most surprising twist in this thing called life. Discover Arcadia Arcadia Episode 002 - JESUS IS KING REVIEW. , West’s presence front and center weakens his work as a producer. Update: 2019-11-01. It leads to moments of undeniable beauty, but little to hold onto. Ostensibly a love song directed at Kim Kardashian West, he solemnly intones “Hold the selfies, put the ‘Gram away / Get your family, y’all hold hands and pray.” It doesn’t work (and makes less sense when he elaborates). Comparing Kanye albums is difficult because of the stark contrast between their content and their time of release, and because Kanye West is an amazing artist who has had an undeniable influence over rap and the music industry. If Thou withdraw Thyself from me, where shall I go?” Improbably, the Klansmen retreated. Think, for example, of the mountain to be traversed on “Climbing Higher Mountains” or the storm to be crossed on “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” Whereas much traditional and contemporary gospel invokes struggle, salvation, and transformation, Jesus Is King is largely focused on the ways in which religion has served Kanye himself. Review Jesus Is King Showing 1 - 4 of 4 reviews. Ostensibly a love song directed at Kim Kardashian West, he solemnly intones “Hold the selfies, put the ‘Gram away / Get your family, y’all hold hands and pray.” It doesn’t work (and makes less sense when, ). JESUS IS KING is an album that perfectly describes the state of Kanye's faith journey...in process. You know? Conclusively, “JESUS IS KING” is a solid record with superb production connecting the Kanye West characteristics that make him the icon he is. Fun, friendly, chill. That has something against Muslims. What Kanye has given us instead is an album that draws stylistically from rap and gospel, but one that focuses exclusively on Jesus and His identity as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Categories: All, Reviews, US Rap Tags: Clipse, GOOD Music, IMAX, Jesus Is King, Jesus Is King Album, Jesus Is King Album Review, Jesus Is King Review, Kanye, Kanye West, Kanye West Jesus Is King, Kim Kardashian, No Malice, Pusha T, Sunday Service, Ty Dolla Sign (In a recent piece for Vibe, the writer Kiana Fitzgerald, who shares with West a bipolar diagnosis, put forth a moving theory connecting spiritual fervor with the experience of mania.). Sounding as if he were recorded from one room over, West. His rapping, though, capsizes the vessel. Such was the power of the gospel. What seems wholly different on Jesus Is King is that those inconsistencies are almost completely absent. It’s hard to take West seriously when the obstacles he distresses over are Instagram likes and steep tax rates (the IRS, he complains, wants “half of the pie”). Though Jesus Is King followed what is now a characteristically chaotic album rollout for West, the result is much more focused than his 2018 album ye. Jesus Is King is the album you make after listening to Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN back-to-front and front-to-back. Share. is filled with moments of undeniable brilliance. A year ago, I said that I was done with Kanye after all of the things he’s pulled. “Father I Stretch My Hands To Thee,” an unsmiling Methodist hymn written by Isaac Watts in the early 1700s and turned into a rousing standard by black gospel singers over the next century, has since transcended the church pew. Almost. The streets of Jerusalem, the royal city, are open to Him, and like a king He ascends to His palace, not a temporal palace but the spiritual palace that is the temple, because His is a spiritual kingdom. Kanye West performs onstage during his "Jesus Is King" album and film experience at The Forum on October 23, 2019 in Inglewood, California. It’s a sweeping epic, lightly affected organs opening to bludgeoning percussion and a crescendoing choir singing only “hallelujah,” nearly unaccompanied, for 45 seconds. , but it admirably lays out what West is attempting to do. Daring, spiritual, and deeply personal, it includes lines like “You’re not perfect, but you’re not your mistakes,” merciful asides that gesture at the kind of comfort the Church offers. Full Review. The maximalism of his leather-skirt phase is all over the expansive soundscape of “Use This Gospel,” whose Kenny G sax solo might be the 2019 equivalent of throwing Elton John onto a hook, just because you can. B-HOP. Jesus Is King Review. Jesus Is King is a 2019 American experimental concert short film by Kanye West and directed by Nick Knight, featuring West's gospel-rap group, Sunday Service. Filmed in the summer of 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. While critics always focused — unfairly — on West’s technical prowess, a forceful clarity of vision was never in question. "Jesus is King" presents audiences with a difficult predicament: the film's content is fascinating, innovative and even inspirational. God saves, and that’s all you need to know of the matter. (An exception is “Follow God,” where an argument with his father prompts consideration, however shallow, of what it means to be “Christlike.”). Jesus Is King Review: A Story of Redemption. It’s not the highest peak available, but it’s one of the only plainly endearing sections. The Avalanches Announce ‘Since I Left You’ 20th Anniversary Reissue, Celebrity Animal Expert Jack Hanna to Leave Public Life Following Dementia Diagnosis, Bassist Rudy Sarzo on His Years With Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, and Dio, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Ariana Grande Lead Record Store Day Drops 2021, Flashback: Carly Simon Performs Cat Stevens-Inspired ‘Anticipation’ in 1971, 070 Shake Doesn’t See Time the Way Everyone Else Does, Tekashi 6ix9ine Releases First Post-Prison Song. The rapping is uniformly lackluster when not delivered by one of the brothers Thornton in their return as legendary rap duo Clipse. is no longer the brash bandleader standing in the center of the storm. It’s unlikely that any listener would select “God Is” as the strongest entry on. "Jesus is King," the album, doesn't fare much better. Yet when West sings, it becomes clear how urgent this album is for him (of course, those moments are in turn undercut by his meandering on songs like “Water”). The stylish and cold Jesus Is King movie worked along the same lines—bringing iPhone maximal-minimal sleekness to a millennia-old institution. Creators of 'Host' Horror Film Are Teasing a Live-Action, Real-Time Horror Game. God saves, and that’s all you need to know of the matter. The scope here is narrow, a distillation that clearly brings West some measure of comfort, but it comes with a simplification of the music itself. "Jesus is King," the album, doesn't fare much better. Some albums grow deeper with subsequent listens; Jesus Is King shrinks. This one-of-a-kind experience features songs arranged by West in the gospel tradition along with new music from his forthcoming album. I don’t attest to any religion that tells me that other people gotta go to hell,” West said in 2008. TheDyingSun . Jesus is King is a relatively short LP of 27 minutes and 11 songs. “Follow God,” whose title is as literal as gospel can get, is organized around a sample of a burning vocal: “Father I stretch, stretch my hands to you,” goes the singer of an obscure 1974 track, Whole Truth’s “Can You Lose By Following God.”. Genres: Christian Hip Hop. The Chicago rapper and producer is far from shy when it comes to hailing his own talents, but given the quality of his long-awaited and oft-delayed new album, Jesus is King… Lately, West is not as dedicated to stirring up controversy on record as he is speaking off the cuff. While his ninth album, Jesus Is King, is his first to be classified as religious music, it’s also the latest entry in a public diary West has been writing for 15 years, in which his relationship with Christianity is constantly shifting. While Jesus Is King certainly has moments echoing some of his less endearing public turns — briefly referencing the 13th Amendment, retrograde riffing on women staying off Instagram, claims that merch sales count as tithing — it’s typically getting more tough to grasp what, exactly, he’s trying to say. Genres: Christian Hip Hop. It’s a fascinating fusion of gospel and hip-hop that keeps the listener engaged throughout, although the brevity of some songs leaves one wanting more. By Andrew Barker Jesus Is King is a spiritual work thanks to its deep feeling -- pure expression brought to today's calamitous social condition. Sing every hour (Every hour) (’til the power) ... Jesus is King is a relatively short LP of 27 minutes and 11 songs. His call for the abolishment of the 13th Amendment, for example, is in direct opposition to his avowed support of a racist, punitive, incarceration-obsessed president. 8 were here. The rapping is uniformly lackluster when not delivered by one of the brothers Thornton in their return as legendary rap duo Clipse. The epistolary song, written from the perspective of West’s deceased mother Donda assuring her son that she’s proud of him, encapsulates much of what Jesus Is King strives towards before falling short. “God Is,” with its straightforward address to the listener, sent me back to “Only One,” one of two West collaborations with Paul McCartney. While they’re all top notch, Closed on Sunday is so good that it can stand alone. , is his first to be classified as religious music, it’s also the latest entry in a public diary West has been writing for 15 years, in which his relationship with Christianity is constantly shifting. Introduction to Kanye. However, the strength of those moments are often derailed by the presence of West himself. Lyrically, the music sounds as if West picked up a Bible yesterday, took everything at face value and decided to make an album about it. Singing with admirable vulnerability, he invokes some reliable Old Testament imagery — Jesus Is King is filled with demons quaking before an almighty power — an earnest attempt to get his point across that ultimately characterizes this project. And I don’t really believe in any of that. Like every Kanye West album, Jesus Is King is filled with moments of undeniable brilliance. Time and time again on Jesus Is King, West’s presence front and center weakens his work as a producer. Rated #1399 in the best albums of 2019. Singing with admirable vulnerability, he invokes some reliable Old Testament imagery —. On Jesus Is King, Kanye’s rap world becomes one big Sunday Service. Like many of West’s later albums, Jesus Is King is filled with songs that echo earlier moments in his catalog. Taka praktyka raczej spłycała te numery niż dodawała im nowej jakości. It’s no secret that West’s albums are often mined from whatever it is he’s thinking about at that moment, but before his latest pivot he at least tried to add punchlines to his verses. Jesus is King is dedicated to Sharing the Good News that Jesus is King of all Creation. Voice straining, he literally tries to enumerate what God is to him. Album Review: Kanye West’s ‘Jesus Is King’ The artist's ninth album contains flashes of inspiration — divine and otherwise — but that's all. Barrett’s version on 2016’s The Life of Pablo, in a song that opens with a non sequitur about a bleached butthole. Jesus Is King is a 2019 American experimental concert short film by Kanye West and directed by Nick Knight, featuring West's gospel-rap group, Sunday Service.The film accompanied the release of Jesus Is King, West's ninth studio album released after a series of delays on October 25, 2019. © Copyright 2021 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. That has something against Buddhists. Jesus rides into His capital city as a conquering King and is hailed by the people as such, in the manner of the day. His mythical rap-camp format, popularized with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s Hawaii origin story, unifies the contributions of producers as disparate as Timbaland, Pi’erre Bourne, Boogz, and Evan Mast of Ratatat into 27 minutes of pleasant, if not entirely transgressive, textures. He’s no longer poking at contradictions, but reveling in a newfound zeal. What Kanye has given us instead is an album that draws stylistically from rap and gospel, but one that focuses exclusively on Jesus and His identity as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If West really, truly believed that it could save someone’s — everyone’s — immortal soul, you wish he had tried a little harder. I really believe in absolute truth.” His thoughts, obviously, have evolved in the decade since. “I don’t attest to any religion that tells me that other people gotta go to hell,” West said in 2008. All things considered, Jesus Is King is chaotic, but not a bad album by any means. Though it will likely be placed alongside last year’s ye as a distinctly lightweight entry in his canon (thanks in part to a brisk 27-minute runtime), the album reminds us that even West’s lesser work can be capable of extreme dynamism. “Jesus Is King” arrives, of course, after months of sneak peaks at West’s Sunday Service celebrations, including a hillside performance just outside of the Coachella festival grounds last April. We work really hard to make sure there's little to no conflict that is common among Christian servers that welcome different denominations and even religions. Instead, he’s simply hanging on, delivering slightly more focused versions of screeds delivered last week in lengthy interviews. It goes without saying that the Jesus Is King film is intended for Kanye West devotees. Consider the power of the evangelical right on the political landscape, into which West has inserted himself in recent years, causing some of the turmoil that presumably sent him seeking refuge in Christ this spring. Hip-Hop, Kanye West. On his ninth album, West turns to religion as his muse. “God Is,” with its straightforward address to the listener, sent me back to “Only One,” one of two West collaborations with Paul McCartney. Instead, he’s simply hanging on, delivering slightly more focused versions of screeds delivered last week in lengthy interviews. Want more Rolling Stone? “Jesus Is Lord” is as bright as the College Dropout album cover. In the midst of the chaos, a woman named Beatrice Cole launched into a spoken prayer of despair: “Father, I stretch my hand to Thee, no other help I know. Written by Max Funk on December 15, 2019. Featured peformers: Kanye West (vocals, producer, executive producer, composer, lyricist), Josh Berg (recording engineer), Josh Bales (recording engineer), Mike Dean (mastering engineer). Lately, West is not as dedicated to stirring up controversy on record as he is speaking off the cuff. It's visually stunning, that utilizes all of the #IMAXmovie format & feels like a IMAX movie than a theatrical movie, and gives the viewer a. Yet when West sings, it becomes clear how urgent this album is for him (of course, those moments are in turn undercut by his meandering on songs like “Water”). The attackers, some of whom were allegedly dressed in police uniform, broke one man’s jaw, viciously beat others, and ultimately burned the building to the ground. In This Article: is filled with demons quaking before an almighty power — an earnest attempt to get his point across that ultimately characterizes this project. Bold-name producers (Timbaland, Pi’erre Bourne, Ronny J, FNZ) and members of … The music of Jesus Is King is pretty, and the message is mostly positive. Bold-name producers (Timbaland, Pi’erre Bourne, Ronny J, FNZ) and members of … The writing that pulls off that difficult task seems woefully out of reach on Jesus Is King. Loved it, as well as the album. While they’re all top notch, Closed on Sunday is so good that it can stand alone. It’s the kind of drama West can orchestrate in his sleep, and few others can convincingly execute. That's the best way I can describe it. While his ninth album. It is a markedly more cohesive and enjoyable album than I believed him capable of creating at this juncture. “I don’t believe in a religion that has something against gay people. Kanye’s rise is inseparable from his drive to prove people wrong: 15 years ago, a host of detractors told Kanye not to rap — he dedicated a 13-minute spoken-word outro to the struggle on his debut album — and the world would be worse off if he’d listened. “How you got so much favor on your side?/‘Accept him as your lord and savior,’ I replied,” he raps on “On God.”. His music has spanned a broad range of styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, synth-pop, industrial, and gospel (Wikipedia). Na szczęście, okazało się, że te niedzielne sesje nie miały wielkiego przełożenia na ostateczny kształt Jesus Is King i studyjnie Kanye standardowo poleciał na grubo. Some of the hallmarks of 20th-century gospel are evident, and warmly applied: the rise and fall of a formidable choir; the velvety growl of a Hammond organ; an undulating piano; rhythms that stretch through history and geography, all the way back to West Africa. On that front it barely coheres, but the delivery sells how deeply felt these convictions are. For the better part of a decade, a cavalcade of headlines and controversy accompanied each fresh Kanye West release, causing as much of a stir as the rabid anticipation from diehard fans. The plaintive, direct singing mode is West’s best delivery vehicle across the album. On that front it barely coheres, but the delivery sells how deeply felt these convictions are. It’s not the highest peak available, but it’s one of the only plainly endearing sections. Life is not black and white, and neither is the experience of communing with any god. Daring, spiritual, and deeply personal, it includes lines like “You’re not perfect, but you’re not your mistakes,” merciful asides that gesture at the kind of comfort the Church offers. What seems wholly different on Jesus Is King is that those inconsistencies are almost completely absent. Sign up for our newsletter. Rather than the grace, justice, and love that characterizes faith at its most transformative, West internalizes the religious entitlement that props up the wealthy and powerful, validating months of jokes about his ambitions as a megachurch pastor. Kanye had been working on a new album in 2018, set to be released in 2019, entitled Yandhi. On Jesus Is King, West’s relationship to Christianity and the Church is simpler. That has something against Muslims. “JESUS IS KING,” on the other hand, is very scattered in its themes and musical palette. It’s a fascinating fusion of gospel and hip-hop that keeps the listener engaged throughout, although the brevity of … Spencer Kornhaber October 25, 2019 That has something against Buddhists. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Beyond superficial gestures at biblical references and the capitalist leanings of American prosperity gospel, there is virtually no indication here as to what it means to follow Jesus. But listening to Jesus Is King, it’s clear that West’s religious moment hasn’t really changed him. This is my honest review of JESUS IS KING, I hope that by reading my review, that everyone would take a different approach to JESUS IS KING and hopefully take a chance and listen to it. “I don’t believe in a religion that has something against gay people. , you begin to see where they may have been coming from. Reviews . On. Jesus Is King Review: A Story of Redemption. November 15, 2019. Lyrically, the music sounds as if West picked up a Bible yesterday, took everything at face value and decided to make an album about it. Voice straining, he literally tries to enumerate what God is to him. As West sells it, figuratively and literally, Jesus Is King is a repudiation of his past sin, an absolution, a blank slate from which to spread the word of a very specific God, one whose blessings rain down on a cul-de-sac in Calabasas and a ranch in Jackson Hole. You know? So Kanye has found God. Here, he often cedes a point of view, or any sort of detail. Released 25 October 2019 on Good (catalog no. Kanye albums used to stretch our perspectives and imaginations. It’s a sweeping epic, lightly affected organs opening to bludgeoning percussion and a crescendoing choir singing only “hallelujah,” nearly unaccompanied, for 45 seconds. Revelations in recent weeks—that he admonished his wife for wearing tight clothes, asked collaborators to abstain from premarital sex, and began keeping a Christian scorecard that includes limiting himself to two curse words a day—suggest his interpretation of the gospel has been more dogmatic than faithful. , religion has always been, if not a fixation, than a thematic concern, something to pick at and analyze, to mythologize and aid in his own self-mythologization. Yes, the bassline on “Water” is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time, but a moment like this feels like a consolation, not a highlight. From his breakout “Jesus Walks” to last year’s ye, religion has always been, if not a fixation, than a thematic concern, something to pick at and analyze, to mythologize and aid in his own self-mythologization. They connect the relatable universality of gospel as delivered on Jesus Is King by Fred Hammond, Ty Dolla $ign, and Ant Clemons, whose singing collectively comes closest to expressing the inspiring, sustaining gentleness of a warmly held faith. The sample of a 1974 tune by Christian soul act Whole Truth on “Follow God” is neck-snappingly good, the kind of textured punch that, still, only West seems capable of; the effervescent triumph of the “On God” beat, the result of a Pi’erre Bourne collaboration, is one of the most immediate joys available on Spotify right now; “Use This Gospel” is a glowing deployment of the stylistic muscle West developed on 2013’s, However, the strength of those moments are often derailed by the presence of West himself. Here, he often cedes a point of view, or any sort of detail. Though Jesus Is King offers some resolution to the darkness hinted at on Pablo, it lacks the deeply human searching that made that album effective and moving. n/a; Lossless Digital). Christianity is the unwavering focus of Kanye’s gospel album, a richly produced but largely flawed record about one man’s love of the Lord (and himself). Though the album is not, strictly stylistically speaking, a gospel record, its steadfast call to worship is its defining feature. He’s always presented as religious—“Jesus Walks” imagined the club as a holy temple back in 2004; the Kardashians’ labored, glamorous Easter photos have become something of an annual tradition; Pablo was explicitly an album about faith—and yet the timing is notable. The year is 2019, and Kanye West, yes, that Kanye, has released a gospel-centric hip-hop album called JESUS IS KING.What a beautiful, and most surprising twist in this thing called life. Recorded (and, apparently, re-recorded) in the months after he announced a recommitment to Christianity, the album is West’s first offering in the wake of Sunday Service, the performance series he’s turned into something of a global church brand. Almost . I really believe in absolute truth.” His thoughts, obviously, have evolved in the decade since. But there's painfully little of it to justify the admission. Jesus Is King is the ninth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West.It was released on October 25, 2019, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings.The album follows a Christian theme, with West describing it as "an expression of the gospel. Undercooked tracks on this gospel album don’t delve deep enough into West’s spiritual enlightenment . Jesus Is King is a spiritual work thanks to its deep feeling -- pure expression brought to today's calamitous social condition. It's essentially a good companion piece for the album with a strong #SundayService aura & #Gospel sensibility. Jesus Is King is a spiritual work thanks to its deep feeling -- pure expression brought to today's calamitous social condition. Loved it, as well as the album. Jesus Is King is also merciful: It’s as unimaginative about its hollow ideas as Ye, but it is a comparatively tuneful 27 minutes that isn’t as crippled by prideful ugliness. By most accounts, fewer and fewer Americans identify as Christian, and a steadily growing number describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. He’s no longer poking at contradictions, but reveling in a newfound zeal. Unfortunately, it’s the sort of work that would have made this album into something transcendent. The rapper’s IMAX movie, Jesus Is King, puts a choral Christian concert into an artist’s crater to beautiful—but cold—effect. That is, other than to perhaps sit back and wait for Him to give you a Forbes cover and a billion-dollar sneaker brand. But in typical Westian fashion, the song dramatically shifts, and very nearly redeems itself. The religious, meanwhile, identify as more devout. Take “Selah,” the album’s true kick-off after his Sunday Service Choir’s introduction, and the first inessential album opener in West’s oeuvre. On Jesus Is King, West’s relationship to Christianity and the Church is simpler. Nowhere is the view muddier than on “Closed On Sundays,” featuring a newfound, poorly articulated dedication to women’s purity in the social media age. If West’s mission is, as he told Zane Lowe in an interview last week, to convert people to Christianity, he’ll likely have to search a little deeper. Now, I’m still done with him.