KANYE RELEASES HIS NEW ALBUM JESUS IS KING, AFTER SURPRISING DELAY
After disappointing many fans this past September, Kanye West finally released his ninth studio album Jesus is King by his record label G.O.O.D Music/ Def Jam Recordings on October 25th after nearly a month delay. Although many of his songs are on the subject of Jesus Christ, West says that the album remains a Hip- Hop/Rap album.
Kanye West returns to an all too familiar spot on the Billboard 200 chart as “Jesus Is King” debuted at number one making it the rappers ninth consecutive debut at the number one spot which matches Eminem’s streak for the longest in the charts history which is still active today.
In the opening week, “Jesus Is King” had 264,000 sales including 197 million streams and 109,000 copies sold as a full album. Part of these sales were made possible due to deals that bundled both digital copies of the album with merchandise that fans purchased on Kanye’s website that included $170 hoodies and $20 pairs of socks and fans were also offered tickets for early access to an upcoming Kanye West event.
“Jesus Is King” starts off with the song “Every Hour” which features the choir that traveled with Kanye West through most of 2019 to his Sunday Services and the album also features Ty Dolla $ign, Ant Clemons, Fred Hammond, Clipse, Kenny G and Pusha T. The song that left a lot of fans scratching their head is titled “Closed on Sunday” which is a reference to the highly popular fast food restaurant Chick Fil A who are widely known to not be open on sunday.
The album has had some mixed reviews as some people feel that Kanye West is venturing into a place in music where he does not belong. What some fail to realize is that West has been writing songs talking about Jesus going way back to 2004s “The College Dropout” in which the song “Jesus Walks” was one of the most successful songs on the album and was awarded best rap song at the 47th Grammy Awards and in “The Life of Pablo”, West introduced the album with the song “Ultralight Beam” that features Chance The Rapper touches heavily on West’s faith in Christianity.
While there are those who are not very fond of the album, those who are fans of West see the album as an artist reaching his artistic freedom as West is known for his creativity when it comes to mixing samples together.
West sees this album as his calling in life, In an interview with Zach Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1, West said, “Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me”. During the interview West also announced that he plans to release a Sunday Service album called “Jesus is Born” on Christmas day.
Kanye West’s album “Jesus is King” is an album that is very different from what some are used to from the rapper. The album makes us question where listeners draw the line in accepting and celebrating art that depicts subjects of sincere value to the history of ethnic people, which in this case just happens to be the role of the gospel in helping people cope with life’s most difficult trials.
Kanye West returns to an all too familiar spot on the Billboard 200 chart as “Jesus Is King” debuted at number one making it the rappers ninth consecutive debut at the number one spot which matches Eminem’s streak for the longest in the charts history which is still active today.
In the opening week, “Jesus Is King” had 264,000 sales including 197 million streams and 109,000 copies sold as a full album. Part of these sales were made possible due to deals that bundled both digital copies of the album with merchandise that fans purchased on Kanye’s website that included $170 hoodies and $20 pairs of socks and fans were also offered tickets for early access to an upcoming Kanye West event.
“Jesus Is King” starts off with the song “Every Hour” which features the choir that traveled with Kanye West through most of 2019 to his Sunday Services and the album also features Ty Dolla $ign, Ant Clemons, Fred Hammond, Clipse, Kenny G and Pusha T. The song that left a lot of fans scratching their head is titled “Closed on Sunday” which is a reference to the highly popular fast food restaurant Chick Fil A who are widely known to not be open on sunday.
The album has had some mixed reviews as some people feel that Kanye West is venturing into a place in music where he does not belong. What some fail to realize is that West has been writing songs talking about Jesus going way back to 2004s “The College Dropout” in which the song “Jesus Walks” was one of the most successful songs on the album and was awarded best rap song at the 47th Grammy Awards and in “The Life of Pablo”, West introduced the album with the song “Ultralight Beam” that features Chance The Rapper touches heavily on West’s faith in Christianity.
While there are those who are not very fond of the album, those who are fans of West see the album as an artist reaching his artistic freedom as West is known for his creativity when it comes to mixing samples together.
West sees this album as his calling in life, In an interview with Zach Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1, West said, “Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me”. During the interview West also announced that he plans to release a Sunday Service album called “Jesus is Born” on Christmas day.
Kanye West’s album “Jesus is King” is an album that is very different from what some are used to from the rapper. The album makes us question where listeners draw the line in accepting and celebrating art that depicts subjects of sincere value to the history of ethnic people, which in this case just happens to be the role of the gospel in helping people cope with life’s most difficult trials.