The disappointment of the new Kayne West album
Jesus is King disappointed me. Regardless of whether or not I think it’s a good album (I don’t), it is not the smash album that I thought would bring Kanye back anywhere close to the popularity he once had.
Granted, I’m not a massive fan of gospel music, but I still enjoy it occasionally. Nothing about this album makes me want to sing, clap my hands or stomp my feet. This album comes across more like Christian rap, which might be one of the worst genres of music. Kanye’s rhymes on this album might be the worst of his career, and the only feature worth listening to is Kenny G, the famous jazz saxophonist.
My main problem with this album is that it doesn’t feel like Kanye. The album before this, Ye, also felt really rushed and it flopped. However, I still enjoyed it because it felt real. It may have been a short album, but it involved Kanye speaking to his audience about his mental illness and about his family. Those themes reminded me of his first album, College Dropout, where he was worried he wouldn’t make it and was close to his family.
Yandhi was an album that was supposed to be released in October of 2018. It got pushed back more and more, until January, when Kanye started his new project. Sunday Services became the new craze. Kanye would pop up somewhere and host a concert, listen to music and praise God.
Yandhi didn’t even get the chance to flop because Kanye still hasn’t released it and probably won’t. His newest album flops because it’s an entirely new Kanye West. He’s preached before and made songs about God before, but they were different. This is a literal Christian rap album, and not even Kanye West can make that good.
I’m happy if he’s found renewed faith and that this is his life now. I’m content realizing that he may not make any more good music again, but couldn’t he have at least tried for this last piece? His lyrics feel lazy (that Chik-Fil-A lyric is atrocious) like he didn’t put his all into this album. Making this Christian album also gets him a tax exemption, which is another reason I think Kanye wasn’t fully committed to making this album.
The lines in this album are so corny, it’s ridiculous. Kanye’s over-the-top lines usually work because they’re either so ridiculous it’s funny or he’s somewhat in on the joke. This entire album plays like an episode of South Park, but it’s as if Kanye isn’t aware that it’s supposed to be funny.
As much as I’d like to say this is usual Kanye craziness, this seems like the sanest he has actually been in a while. I think this album would’ve flopped if not released by literally anyone but Kanye West or Jesus himself. I don’t know how long people will share it on their Instagram stories, but I hope it isn’t long.