Kanye’s “Jesus is King”

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Madeline Doherty, Writer

Kanye West has dropped his new album Jesus is King after a long wait. There are 11 songs on the album, all Christian-based and guest features include Clipse, Ty Dolla Sign, Kenny G, Fred Hammond, Ant Clemons, and Sunday Service. Niki Minaj was meant to have a part “new body” in the album; however, it didn’t make the final cut because it strayed from Christian themes. 

In August, Kim Kardashian announced that Kanye would be releasing the album on September 27, 2019. This release date was pushed back to September 29 and it didn’t drop on the 29th either. In late October, Kanye previewed the album and an accompanying IMAX film entitled Jesus is King in Detroit. This is also when he noted that he will only be producing gospel music moving forward. After an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple music, Kanye promised the album would be out at midnight of October 25th, but missed that deadline too. No album appeared on streaming services but West promised that “We not going to sleep until this album is out!” Later in the morning, the album dropped.  

Yes, the entire album is Christian based. “Every Hour” opens the album with the Sunday service choir followed by Selah, Follow God, Closed on Sunday, On God, Everything We Need, Water, God Is, Hands-On, Use This Gospel, and Jesus is Lord. In the interview with Zane Lowe, Kanye said that he recently had a recommitment with Christianity in April of this year. This is obviously reflected in his new album and reportedly all his future music.

Some listeners  feel that the album divides the Christian community, but some evangelists are excited for others to hear the album’s message.

Kanye and Dr. Dre announced an upcoming sequel, Jesus is King II.