Kanye West’s Jesus Is King dropped on Friday and the reaction was mixed. Some Kanye fans loved the album, overt Christian messaging and all, while it compelled others to reconsider their Kanye fandom. But the loudest voices were the ones that simply hated the record. And there’s lots to hate about Jesus Is King. The album shows flashes of the Kanye of old but the ideas are too scattered to be cohesive, Kenny G sax solo notwithstanding.
West, always an idiosyncratic public figure, polarized his fans and the general public by embracing Trump. So, predictably, Jesus Is King sent the internet into a frenzy.
HOLY SHIT THIS ALBUM SUCKS
— THE KID MERO 🇩🇴 (@THEKIDMERO) October 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/JeremiahWalker/status/1188067228241014784
I’m so glad I’m Deaf in the timeline where Kanye West drops this song pic.twitter.com/EE3JEjUwE0
— becca 🤟🏻🦻🏻 (@beccamals) October 26, 2019
If anyone not named Kanye West dropped An album like JIK nobody would’ve even take it seriously…
— John🎶 (@1Deviladvocate9) October 27, 2019
My review of “Jesus is King” Kanye west pic.twitter.com/WihXvsXBUF
— Adam Friedland (@AdamFriedland) October 27, 2019
In addition to jokes, social media had legitimate criticism of West and the album. Jesus Is King is not the first mix of gospel and hip-hop, let alone on a West record (see: “Jesus Walks”). JIK could wind up being the most influential gospel hip-hop album ever, though it’s far from the best fusion of the two genres.
https://twitter.com/RickyRawls/status/1187885207086653441
The album also prompts questions about West’s mental health, as he addressed questions about mental health on his last release, Ye. Unlike Ye, there’s no discussion of bipolar on Jesus Is King. But West’s public appearances and statements continue to raise eyebrows. And while his full-blown embrace of right wing talking points is hardly new or surprising, it seems to deepen by the day.
Kanye west has finally convinced me that sublimating your mania into art will eventually end in you becoming a cult member and that the only responsible thing for a bipolar person to do is go to therapy and get on lithium as fast as possible. This album sucks.
— JAKE FLORES (@feraljokes) October 27, 2019
