Kanye West came out with his ninth album, “Jesus Is King” on Oct. 25, 2019, and it has a completely different feel than past albums. Some would even say it’s a complete opposite of one of his most popular albums “Yeezus,” which came out in June of 2013. Throughout the 27 minute listening experience, I felt like I was listening to gospel music.

This album is an embracement of his Christian faith, with all song titles that are religion based, including “Use This Gospel” and “On God.” While some songs seem underdeveloped, like “Jesus is Lord” at only 49 seconds long, some fans could complain they wanted more.

Compared to Kanye’s usual club hit songs like “Gold Digger” and “Stronger,” which will forever be classics, we probably won’t be hearing any songs from “Jesus Is King” at any parties. The songs on this album are not the kind of music I’d want to dance to. The feel of the whole album is completely different than Kanye’s original vibe. 

Some of the writing for the album is tacky. A couple lines that stand out for being corny are in the song “Closed on Sundays,” where he sings “Closed on Sunday, you’re my Chick-fil-A” and “You’re my number one, with the lemonade.” While big fans of Kanye’s don’t want to admit it, some of the writing is just not it for us.

The album undeniably has its low moments, but there are some higher points to it. The song “Follow God” is the best of the whole album, with some of that old Kanye rap-feel, while still holding that deeper religion aspect. That song has the least gospel feel, though it’s still present within the background music, and that’s why it’s the biggest hit on the album.

Fans should have expected a religious-based album, because Kanye has been holding his own Sunday services in dedication to music and Jesus Christ. While it’s good for Kanye to be able to find his love for God and transform himself, this album might not have been exactly what fans wanted. 

Kanye was really committed to making this album, he asked the team working on it to fast and avoid premarital sex. Now come on — that is an extreme — but honestly Kanye has always been extreme.

There has been a satire written saying that Kanye will be coming with a follow-up album with silly songs such as “Jesus’s Cheeseburger” and “The Kardashians Who Don’t Do Anything.” We know that this is fake, but a little piece of me wishes this would be true. The humor behind these fake titles seems like it could almost be real, because with Kanye we never know what could happen. Once again he is a man of extreme.

To like “Jesus Is King,” you either have to be the biggest Kanye fan in the world or somewhat enjoy gospel music. Although there are some hits on the album, the whole thing is definitely not a fan favorite. This album did not come out of the blue, we should have expected it, but I will definitely miss the old Kanye.

Rating 2.5/5