Read on Twitter
Kanye releases gospel/rap album “Jesus is King.”
A few thoughts. Interested in (nice) response thoughts.
Kanye has created some of the most iconic albums/singles of the last 20 years. I think there’s some consensus on that front.
“Jesus Walks” is one of his early singles on College Dropout (2004). “I Am a God” releases on Yeezus (2013). Rapping about God has long been a theme of his, albeit a variety of takes.
I think he helped usher in more confessional, honest rap in the mid-00s that is now common place.
Artist identity is and always has been highly important in the rap game. For example: rappers better be writing their own lyrics. Their story and hometown is disproportionately emphasized compared to other genres.
(Also why Eminem can be respected for 1. Being a good rapper AND 2. Coming from Detroit. While Macklemore can be popular/win Grammys but lack respect in the rap world because he’s another white dude.)
Back to Kanye. He’s long had the reputation of being a loose canon. He called out Bush for not caring about black people following Hurricane Katrina. He infamously interrupted TSwift when trying to defend Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” videos at the VMAs.
Over the last few years, he’s gone rogue within the rap world. Showed Trump support by wearing a MAGA hat while hosting SNL. Publicly made comments about “slavery being a choice” based on the longevity of slavery in the country (he later apologized). Integrity gaps in my opinion.
Regardless, he’s distanced himself from many. While Kanye has made it a habit of shape shifting and shooting from the hip, he’s positioned himself with a specific camp that’s caused a lot of hurt and destruction to many marginalized people. Causing a lot of fans to cancel him.
Rap is a genre built on subverting the system and empowering the marginalized. So the response to his words/actions can’t be too surprising.
Re cancel culture - that’s a whole other conversation. Suffice it to say people can choose to pay attention to him or not. (Though probably good to differentiate him from egregious offending artists like Michael Jackson or R. Kelly that deserve much more explicit cancellation.)
So back to the “Jesus is Lord” album. It’s a solid gospel album, as much as I can claim to be a critic.
But I also can’t totally differentiate artist from art. And I would argue this is especially the case in a genre where artist identity is paramount.
Claiming that “anyone can be saved and make God honoring music” is true but also ignores the wider context of Kanye’s current positioning within culture.
I can semi-understand the approach to listen to Kanye because he‘s a top-tier producer and knows how to rap. I have some questions about what story he’s telling.
What I have trouble with is turning to Kanye for gospel music. A genre explicitly meant for spiritual edification and inspiration. It lands differently on me. I can’t look beyond Kanye’s integrity gaps.
Thanks for listening to my TED Talk. Hoping we can engage culture with eyes open. Be kind. I welcome your take.
