By Gianna Porcek ’20, Arts and Entertainment Editor

After almost a year of teasing new music, Kanye West recently released Jesus is King on October 25th. While this is Kanye’s ninth album release, many may find upon listening to his new music that this album shares a very different message than his previous projects. 

After a psychiatric hospitalization in 2016, Kanye began exploring his relationship with God. “The most space that I had to think is when I went to the hospital,” said West. “One of the things that happened when I went to the hospital is I started reading the Bible and I started writing and copying out Bible verses.” On January 6th, Kanye began his “Sunday Services” where choir director Jason White says Kanye intends to “share the love of Christ throughout the nation.” In the words of West himself, these services are “an idea we had to open up our hearts to make music that we felt was as pure and as positive as possible…where people can just come together and feel good with their families.” The entire album, from the titles to the words Kanye and his choir sing and rap, is intertwined with God’s power to heal and to bring people together. 

However, many critics have accused West of using his religion as a device to re-acquire his following after a series of insensitive remarks regarding African Americans, politics, and religion, along with a continuous failure to release albums, sparking disappointment in many fans.

Kanye West was originally supposed to release Yandhi on October 23, 2018, but failed to debut his album to his already eager fans. Over the course of many months, West claimed to be putting final touches on a few songs from the album or explaining to his fans, via Twitter, that he was unhappy with the final result and wanted to continue working until he was happy with the album. However, to this day, Yandhi has not and will not, according to West, be released as he vows to no longer create “secular music.” Many fans replied to West expressing disappointment and anger regarding the album. Some speculate that Kanye attempted to create “hype” for his new album by changing his image after his re-discovered ties with God. West’s Sunday Services in secluded locations originally promoted exclusivity and even forced invited attendees to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Even when these events did become public a few months later, attendees were forced to keep their phones in locked pouches to ensure privacy. This idea of secrecy enticed fans and sparked their curiosity about these services; Kanye was most certainly back on his fans’ minds. 

Many people are also upset with West’s offensive and absurd comments during interviews. “As humbly as I can put it, [God] is using me to show off,” West said on his appearance on The Late Late Show explaining how he paid off his debt using money from his tax returns. He further referenced himself as “God’s vessel.” Just days ago in another interview, West said, “Black people who take issue with [Trump’s] conservative stances are stuck on “the idea of victimization mentality,” and are “brainwashed.” West added: When I was sitting at the Met Balls, when I was sitting in front of white people and they thought, ‘I wouldn’t thought you’d like Trump because of the racism’…So, you mean to tell me I make every decision based off my color?”

These “coincidences” simply beg the question: Has Kanye West truly found God or has he simply exploited religion to regain his following after a series of insensitive remarks?