Kanye’s ninth album has a very prominent Christian theme throughout, and features three songs with writing credits from Toronto artist and producer Sean Leon
Photo courtesy Peter Hutchins/Wikimedia Commons
By Xavier Eeswaran
“No more living for the culture, we nobody’s slaves.”
The last words Kanye West speaks on the chorus of “Closed on Sunday” sum up the Kanye we hear on Jesus is King.
West is undoubtedly a pioneer in hip hop culture. From his infamous Yeezy 350s and fashion influence to the autotuned and remorseful sound of his 2008 album 808s and Heartbreak, his work serves as a blueprint for the rappers in the decade to come. West’s mark on the culture cannot be overlooked.
With that being said, on Jesus is King, West denounces living for the culture and fully embodies the Christian faith as briefly heard throughout his career on songs such as “Jesus Walks” and “Ultralight Beam.”
Jesus is King is the second album West has accompanied with a film. West made Runaway to go along with his album My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy. Jesus is King’s movie, with the same title, played at select Toronto theatres in IMAX on Oct. 24 and 25. The film is shot through a tunnel, with Kanye rarely making an appearance as the film mostly focuses on members of the Sunday Service singing gospel music and hymns in white robes. The movie is only 35 minutes and abstract.
Due to every song’s theme of Christianity and spirituality, this album is, by all means, a concept album. Right off the bat, this is made crystal clear with the gospel singing by the Sunday Service Choir on the album’s Kanye-less intro, “Every Hour.”
The next song titled “Selah” has IXXI influence written all over it. Formed in 2012 in Toronto, IXXI is a music initiative co-founded by Canadian artists Sean Leon and Daniel Caesar. “Selah” features writing credits from artist and producer Leon, and a Christian influence on the production that Caesar would excel with, given his upbringing in the Christian church singing gospel music.
Leon also has writing credits on “Use This Gospel,” and “Jesus Is Lord”, making this his biggest collaboration yet.
“God Is,” is a soulful ballad over background church vocals featuring a pitched-up sample of Rev. James Cleveland’s 1979 song of the same name, reminiscent of West’s College Dropout era. “On God” has Kanye bearing the good and the ugly of his truth on uptempo Pi’erre Bourne production, creating what may be the flyest confession ever spoken.
“Follow God” is most likely to be the commercial hit of the album thanks to the classic Kanye formula of fast-paced bars on a sample laced beat.
“Use This Gospel” reunites legendary hip-hop duo Clipse and puts them on the same track as Kenny G. On top of that, Ty Dolla $ign sings the joyful and grateful chorus of “Everything We Need” accompanied by singer-songwriter Ant Clemons. Clemons also has vocals on the same song and “Water.”
Overall, all but two of the 11 songs have significant replay value. Those two tracks are “Every Hour” — because West does not have vocals on it — and “Hands On” which gets a little too simple towards the end of it. Outside of those two tracks, the vocals on Jesus Is King are not as modified as other Kanye West albums, giving it a more raw and appropriately transparent feeling.
Jesus Is King takes a deeper dive into the themes of Christ and God which Kanye has given glimpses of in the past.
By doing so, the album is beautiful and contagiously optimistic, and thanks to the presence of the choir vocals backing up West’s Christ-inspired lyrics, it’s his most authentic and honest work to date.