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Religion has always had a place in Kanye West’s music. He’s drawn on the talents of gospel choirs in songs as early as 2004’s “Jesus Walks”, and his faith periodically reveals itself through his lyrics as a drive for personal reform (“No more drugs for me / Pussy and religion is all I need”, as he proclaims in 2010’s “Hell of a Life”). But in Jesus Is King, West rises to a whole new level of piety—so much so that he seems to have completely forsaken the music.

 Those who have been following the series of worship events led by the Chicago rapper and his Sunday Service choral ensemble throughout 2019 may find themselves disappointed by the overall sound of the new album, which does relatively little to capitalise on the vocal power at its disposal, outside of “Every Hour”, “Selah”, and “Water”.  No track soars to the dizzying heights of “Ultralight Beam” that inaugurated 2016’s The Life of Pablo.  Instead, the production relies heavily on Kanye’s classic combination of poppy synths and obscure samples, which, though mostly done well, seem unfitting for a record that purports to mark a breakneck change in direction for the artist’s career. The short-and-sweet tracks (with most hovering around the two-minute mark) can border on underwhelming, lacking the progression and unpredictability that characterised many of West’s previous projects. 

 Jesus Is King contains no swear words in its lyrical content, so Kanye has had to find other ways to offend us. Perhaps the most egregious of lines is “Closed on Sunday / You my Chick-Fil-A”, but there are more than a few close seconds, including an absurd vindication for the rapper’s famous hot temper (“Keepin’ perfect composure / When I scream at the chauffeur / I ain’t mean, I’m just focused”) and a quick-fix for the Fall of Man (“say ‘Baby, let’s put this apple back on the tree’ ’cause / We have everything we need”). West even takes the opportunity to justify charging eye-watering prices for concert tickets and items  included in his clothing line because of high taxes: “The IRS want they fifty plus our tithe / […] That’s why I charge the prices that I charge”; meanwhile, his family continues to make upwards of $100 million per season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. To echo “Follow God”, that’s not very Christ-like.

 It would be unfair not to mention that the album does have some  saving graces. The captivating instrumentals of “God Is” and “Jesus Is Lord” illustrate Kanye’s prowess as a producer, as does that of “Use This Gospel”, though it does seem to sample the noise a car makes when the driver-side door has been left open. However, nothing on this record speaks for the innovation that we’ve come to expect from Kanye West. Underdeveloped ideas and a pronounced feeling of self-righteousness trample on whatever good Jesus Is King has to offer, leaving us with a Christian album of diabolical morals and sinfully poor taste.