[review] Jesus is King by Kanye West
Jesus is King, Kanye West's 9th album, has been about as divisive as any of his up to this point. Unlike many, I neither hate nor absolutely am obsessed with this album - I'm going to go track by track and then give an overall score. I imagine my opinions will change over time, but these are my feelings a few days in - let me know your thoughts on the album!
Every Hour - 7/10, great intro, the choir kills it throughout the album, but does feel as if it was cut from a larger recording
Selah - 9/10, a high note on the album, instrumentals are great (organ, strings, drums), choir is amazing, but most of all Ye is hitting on cylinders here, especially after the Hallelujahs
Follow God - 8/10, the sample is used to perfection here, and the beat is fire - Ye keeps the beginning of the album on track here. However, more could have been done with the structure of this song if it were longer
Closed on Sunday - 6/10, enjoy the instrumental a lot, think the acoustic guitar and the choir, and the synths about 2/3 into the song are sick. However, I cannot get past the lyrics and delivery, I find them really distracting/underwhelming
On God - 7/10 - well done synth-focused track, pushes the right buttons without being grating. Decent delivery in this one, but not the best on the album
Everything We Need - 8/10, great melody here, and while Kanye takes more of a backseat compared to tracks like Hands On, this is still a highlight of the album. Ant Clemons has a great feature here
Water - 7/10, really enjoy this track, but at the same time have problems with one of the synths, which I think sounds a little strange
God Is - 8/10, AKA Ye stretching his voice. Interesting track here, worth a listen no matter what - I imagine we will be seeing a lot more tracks like this, hearing his voice strain over long melodies and I'm here for it. Speaking of the melody, I'm not in love with it, but it gets the job done - like the track, love the new direction and instrumentals/backup vocals
Hands On - 10/10 - Kanye's best lyrical work on this album, evoking The Life of Pablo both lyrically, melodically, and structurally. The instrumentals and Ye's flow are killer here.
Use This Gospel - 8/10, enjoy the features and structure of the song, but can find the car ding irritating depending on my mood. The ending is one of the best moments of the whole album, starting with the sax solo and then return of the melody
Jesus is Lord - 8/10, good outro track, wish it was longer
Overall, this is an 8/10, which is quite good. However, given Ye's discography, it is not even close to his best work, which is why I think it's getting so much backlash.