Jesus Is King, stylized in all caps, is the ninth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on October 25, 2019 by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances by Ty Dolla $ign, Ant Clemmons, Kenny G, Fred Hammond, the Sunday Service Choir, as well as Pusha T and his brother No Malice as the rap duo Clipse.
The album is entirely based on Christian themes, another dramatic change in West's work, and is quoted by him as an "expression of gospel".
History[]
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The cover art for Yandhi, which is a MiniDisc with a purple shutter
Following the release of Ye, West announced on September 17, 2018 that his ninth album would be released on September 29 that year under the name Yandhi, and also showcased the album cover, which appeared similar to the cover of Yeezus, his sixth studio album. On September 27, West previewed some tracks from the album, featured artists included Ty Dolla $ign, XXXTentacion and 6ix9ine. The first proposed tracklist also included West's single "I Love It", which featured Lil Pump. Artists Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj and Teyana Taylor were also rumored to appear on the album.
West was brought on as a guest for Saturday Night Live to coincide with the release of the album. The initial album was accidentally leaked by Universal Music Publishing Group, which revealed eight tracks. Following this event, the album was rescheduled to release on October 1, 2018 by West's ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Later that day, West visited TMZ offices and admitted the album was "not finished yet", and would be traveling to Uganda to finish recording. Following a performance of Kids See Ghosts with Kid Cudi at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flow Gnaw Carnival, West made a tweet on how he felt the album "didn't feel finished", and delayed it indefinitely.
During December 2018, West's mental health was neglected, as admitted by him, and was focusing more on finishing the album. Later that month, West recruited rapper and producer Timbaland, as well as Argentinian jazz pianist Federico Vindver to record in Miami, and help with making the album have "more healing music". Sessions were around 19-20 hours long, and Vindver had reported to produce around 100 songs with West.
In January 2019, West would debut the Sunday Service Choir, and would rehearse every Sunday. While moving between Los Angeles and Miami, West would collaborate with more artists, such as Lil' Wayne, 2 Chainz, Migos, YNW Melly, and Tee Grizzley. On February 14, 2019, West would meet Kenny G for the first time for a Valentine's Day performance, and recruited Kenny for a track on the album. Between February and March 2019, multiple sessions would take place with West, his Sunday Service Choir, Ant Clemmons and Ty Dolla $ign.
In May 2019, West would continue sessions in Wyoming, where he recorded his previous album Ye, as well as inviting rapper Pusha T and his brother and fellow rapper, No Malice. During the summer, the album went from 50 producers down to three, with West constantly switching between collaborators. Producer P'ierre Bourne was brought on the album in July 2019. On August 29, 2019, Kim Kardashian announced the now named "Jesus Is King" with a release date of September 27th. Two days before its scheduled release, a meeting with Def Jam executives would result in West to state that the album would miss its release, and would instead release on the 29th, in order to finalize mixing and mastering.
The track "Chakras", which was previously featured for Yandhi, was reworked for Jesus Is King as "Selah". while the track "New Body" from Yandhi was awaiting a verse from Nicki Minaj. By this time, the rescheduled release date was also skipped due to West feeling that he was unsatisfied with the end product.
For the majority of October 2019, West would wrap up production and finalized the release date of October 25th. Notable tracks from Yandhi, such as "New Body", "Up From The Ashes" and "LA Monster" were scrapped. Skipping its midnight release, West apologized and stated some tracks needed to quickly be mixed properly and was released 4 hours later after the scheduled midnight premiere.
Cancelled Sequel Album[]
After the release of the album, West announced "Jesus Is King Part II", in collaboration with Dr. Dre. Tracks that were leaked were remixed versions of the songs "Up From The Ashes" and "LA Monster", as well as a remix of the track "Use This Gospel" featuring Eminem. During this time, West was working on his tenth solo project, and thus the sequel album was eventually lost/cancelled.
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Every Hour" (featuring Sunday Service Choir) | 1:52 | |
| 2. | "Selah" | 2:45 | |
| 3. | "Follow God" | 1:45 | |
| 4. | "Closed On Sunday" | 2:32 | |
| 5. | "On God" | 2:16 | |
| 6. | "Everything We Need" (featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Ant Clemmons) | 1:56 | |
| 7. | "Water" (featuring Ant Clemmons) | 2:48 | |
| 8. | "God Is" | 3:23 | |
| 9. | "Hands On" (featuring Fred Hammond) | 3:23 | |
| 10. | "Use This Gospel" (featuring Clipse and Kenny G) | 3:34 | |
| 11. | "Jesus Is Lord" | 0:49 |