A Pro-Black, Atheist’s Perspective of “Jesus Is King”
Kanye West can stir an emotion.
Just a quick search on Twitter will show a wide range of feelings incited by the self proclaimed “Greatest artist, dead or alive.” Feelings of disdain, admiration, disappointment, awe, joy, and “will this nigga please just leave us alone???”.
He sincerely believes his disability to be a superpower, but I believe that it’s his ability to stir up emotion that is both his power and weakness. There seems to be this quality about him that almost demands an emotional response. He allows you to love him, to hate him, to be confused by him, even to pity him (for some). What he does not appear to do is allow you to ignore him. For all his screwups, antics, and random acts of dickheadery, I have to give it to him. At least he keeps it fresh and gives EVERYONE their chance to say “Fuck this dude”. And I mean everyone.
But still his work is undeniable. For some people it’s difficult to reconcile. How can a dude be this trash and this dope at the same time? Some try to short circuit this experience, but outright refusing to listen to his music. Others just ignore the antics and focus on the music. Just so that it’s clear where I’m coming from, I don’t see a contradiction between wack people and good products. Wack people do great things all the time. That’s just reality. My first few personal encounters with Kanye, left me with the impression “this is not a dude I would ever be friends with, but this nigga is DOPE.” Every iteration of Kanye has given me that same feeling.
But now we have this newest iteration of Kanye. Bible Belt Ye’. There’s been dozens of takes on his newfound salvation, and I will not bother explaining them all. Whether or not he is sincere, is honestly not my concern. I will explain why though I enjoy the album, I can’t take it seriously.
Sonically, it’s mostly a gorgeous piece of work. From the hamonics of “Every Hour” to the braggadocios-but-somehow-still-affable “On God”, I enjoyed every track. (This dude still ain’t realized that he can’t sing. But I guess that’s just his thing.) “Water”, which was unveiled during Sunday Service, is possibly my favorite track. Getting The Clipse back together and then bringing in Kenny G, is a flex only Kanye can muster.
As always, Kanye comes through with the content while simultaneously not understanding where exactly he got everyone fucked up at. If the saying “just because you right, don’t mean you ain’t wrong” had a face, it would be Kanye’s.
You my Chick-Fil-A, Hold the Selfies, Put the ‘Gram away… -Closed on Sunday
You don’t get to fall in love with your wife for being alluring, sexual, and social, then all of the sudden sing songs about how she needs to tone it down for Jesus. Is it good for families to detach from the world and observe some time together? Absolutely. Is it good to compare your mate, who supports LGBTQ+ peoples, to Chic-Fil-A? Absolutely not.
I deserve all the criticism you got, If that’s all the love you have, that’s all you got..
-Hands On
In “Hands On” ft Fred Hammon, Kanye laments the judgement he has received from Christians and pleads for their prayers instead. He recognizes that people don’t believe him and doubt his sincerity. It’s one of my favorite tracks, but also where I have the biggest issue. It’s not Kanye’s heart that makes people doubt him. It’s his words and mouth. He’s great for having wonderful ideas that he just somehow finds the worst way to apply.
So when you support Donald Trump, and say that he is an inspiration to you. People have EVERY right to question you. Donald Trump is literally what the anti-christ would be if he was a jaundiced, emotionally impotent, 73-year old toddler, raised by intellectually stunted racists. To view this abysmal excuse for a human being as a hero, would be a slap in the face of Jesus. He is everything Jesus tells us not to be: selfish, dishonest, wrathful, cruel to children, ignorant, and prideful. If Donald Trump had lived during the time of Jesus, he would have taken a full page ad out in the Jerusalem Post calling for his execution, and then cheated the guys who built the cross out of their pay.
You can’t say you love Jesus, but then praise his adversary.
You can’t say you love Black People and then proudly wear the paraphernalia of our enemy.
You can’t say that you believe people should be free thinkers, and adopt the mindset of individuals who want to see us in chains.
I enjoy Kanye’s music. By no means do I believe that his antics invalidate his artistry. I say this in the same vein that I enjoy religion. By no means do I believe the negative behaviors of believers invalidate God. If the intention was just create a good album, well done.
However, if Kanye’s intent is to convince people to give their life over to Christ, he might want to reconsider this weird MAGA obsession. He might want to stop slut-shaming his wife. He might want to tell young men to respect women PRIOR to becoming fathers. It would be a good idea to learn the basis of a matter before speaking on it. Sowing your life and beliefs into your art means that people will also contextualize your art in the framework of your non-artistic actions. So while it may not invalidate the art, it will justifiably change the conversation about it.
I genuinely hope that this is the beginning of an actual new Kanye. To me, Old Kanye has become the equivalent of alcohol. It’s fun, but the more I grow, the less I need it, and the less I am willing to accept the bad parts of the experience.