Jesus Is King

August–November 2018: Yandhi, Chicago and Uganda Throughout May and June 2018, five seven-track albums produced by West at his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming were successively released as the Wyoming Sessions. American rapper Pusha T's third studio album Daytona was released first, followed by West's eighth studio album Ye, West's collaborative studio album Kids See Ghosts, with Kid Cudi as Kids See Ghosts, Nas' eleventh studio album Nasir, and Teyana Taylor's second studio album K.T.S.E.; all of the albums were released in 2018. In July 2018, Chicago music artist Chance the Rapper announced that West was coming to Chicago to produce for his seven-track debut studio album. West was seen in the city at the end of August 2018, and simultaneously confirmed to Fox News that the two of them were recording music together. West later stated that his recording sessions with Chance the Rapper had helped the former reconnect with his roots and faith in Jesus. The following month, West released the collaborative single "I Love It" with fellow American rapper Lil Pump. Later that month, West visited Colombia to record music with fellow rapper 6ix9ine. West also reactivated his Instagram account after a half-year absence, with indications that he was working with American record producer Ronny J, and Chance the Rapper, alongside the latter's brother Taylor Bennett, and American rapper G Herbo. Through his Instagram, West confirmed that he was collaborating with 6ix9ine and began posting snippets of new music. American singer-songwriter Ant Clemons, who had previously worked with West on Ye and K.T.S.E., was invited to Chicago where he entered a studio room with West, Chance the Rapper, and American conservative commentator Candace Owens. During these Chicago sessions, Clemons recorded his vocals for "Everything We Need” and an earlier version of the track "Selah" (originally titled "Chakras"). West ultimately did not move back to Chicago and Good Ass Job has yet to materialize. {{multiple image On September 17, 2018, West announced his ninth studio album Yandhi, just three months after the release of his previous solo album Ye, revealing the cover art and initial release date of September 29, 2018. On September 27, 2018, West visited The Fader headquarters to preview new music from Yandhi and invited people to change up the lyrics. Songs previewed included vocals from American singer Ty Dolla Sign and American rappers 6ix9ine, and XXXTentacion; West was awaiting Barbadian singer Rihanna to send in vocals for a track. A working track list for the initial version of Yandhi included "I Love It" with Lil Pump, "We Got Love" with Teyana Taylor and American singer Lauryn Hill (originally intended for K.T.S.E.), and "New Body", which Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper Nicki Minaj recorded her verse in under an hour after Kardashian coordinated to get her featured on the song. Other tracks included "The Storm", "Bye Bye Baby", "Hurricane", "Alien / SpaceX", "Last Name", "Sky City", "Garden" and "Chakras." Universal Music Publishing Group accidentally leaked that the initial version of the album was to be eight tracks long that same month, with Clemons being shown to have contributed to seven of the tracks. After the album went unreleased, a rescheduled date of November 23, 2018, was announced by Kardashian on October 1 of that year. That same day, West visited the TMZ offices for an interview, admitting that the album was not actually finished yet and that he would be going to Africa in two weeks to continue recording for Yandhi. West talked about recording in Chicago and how he "felt the roots" but wanted to go to further his energy by touching African soil and recording in nature. , Uganda in October 2018. On October 12, 2018, West arrived in Uganda and restarted work on the album in a dome-shaped studio set up in the Chobe Safari Lodge at the Murchison Falls National Park. West arrived with around 50 people and recorded for five days. He played new music, including a studio recording of the "We Got Love" remix, for a group of about 100 Ugandan school children during a charity event. In an October 21, 2018, interview, American rapper Quavo stated that his trio Migos had recorded for the album. In November 2018, following a Kids See Ghosts performance with Kid Cudi at American rapper Tyler, the Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, West tweeted that he felt Yandhi was not finished, and that he would "announce the release date once it's done," delaying the album indefinitely. December 2018 – April 2019: Miami and the Sunday Service Choir began working on the album in December 2018 and contributed production on five tracks. In December 2018, West reiterated on Twitter that he was still not taking medications for his bipolar disorder in order to record music on the same level as some of his previous works. That same month, American record producer Timbaland and Argentinian jazz pianist Federico Vindver were recording in Miami when West joined their studio session to make "more healing music" for Yandhi. Clemons was also invited to a record in Miami after he had been talked about to Timbaland by West "nonstop." Vindver stated he recorded about 100 songs with West over the course of ten days. Vindver and American record producer Angel Lopez have stated that these recording sessions lasted 19 to 20 hours. The track "Use This Gospel" was first recorded during these sessions under the name "Law of Attraction." On January 6, 2019, West debuted the Sunday Service Choir, and continued to rehearse on every Sunday. The choir sings classic gospel music and "church-friendly" remixes of popular songs. On February 14, 2019, West met saxophonist Kenny G for the first time after hiring him for a Valentine's Day performance. The day after, West began previewing new songs to him in the studio and Kenny G suggested that his saxophone "would sound really good" on "Use This Gospel." The video garnered Hammond's attention. In March 2019, Hammond was introduced to West at Chance the Rapper's wedding, where West invited Hammond to record for the album. The track "Water" had been recorded in April 2019, "Water" was performed with the Sunday Service Choir, Clemons and Ty Dolla Sign at Coachella for Easter. May–October 2019: Wyoming, Calabasas and Jesus Is King to finish Jesus Is King, the same state where he recorded his previous solo album Ye (2018). In May 2019, West invited Pusha T and the latter's brother, fellow American rapper No Malice, to Wyoming, Pusha T and No Malice were reunited as their duo Clipse. A feature from the duo was requested by West, though Pusha T had been unsure about whether or not No Malice would say yes to the two of them collaborating as Clipse. West also spoke to Tyson about quitting rapping because he viewed it as "the devil's music," to which Tyson suggested that West rap for God. Tyson was invited to weigh in on how to include Christian elements within the album. Nicki Minaj also stated during an episode of Queen Radio that West had recently made her aware of him being a born-again Christian. West quit his self-diagnosed pornography addiction and asked collaborators on the album not to engage in premarital sex. On August 29, 2019, Kardashian announced Jesus Is King by posting a handwritten tracklist of the project on her Twitter. The note also listed a September 27, 2019, release date. In early September 2019, West was reportedly finishing up the album with Pusha T at his newly purchased ranch in Cody, Wyoming. On September 25, 2019, multiple sources indicated that Def Jam executives had met with West in Wyoming and that the album would miss its scheduled released date. Following a listening party in Detroit, Kardashian announced that the album would miss its September 27 release date and would instead be released two days later on September 29, 2019, as mixing had to be finalized. In October 2019, West continued working on the album in Wyoming and invited Swizz Beatz to help finish it. On October 21, 2019, West tweeted out a new release date, October 25, 2019. West cut the songs "New Body", "Up from the Ashes", and "LA Monster" from the album. Jesus Is King went on to miss its midnight premiere, with West explaining the delay hours after by tweeting: "To my fans, Thank you for being loyal & patient. We are specifically fixing mixes on 'Everything We Need' 'Follow God' & 'Water'." West entrusted frequent collaborator Consequence to overlook final mixing and the album was delivered to streaming services at 4:30 AM. Jesus Is King was ultimately released on its planned release date. West claimed in a January 2020 interview with GQ that 20 percent of the album was recorded on an iPhone, including the track "Closed on Sunday." ==Music and production==

{{Listen Jesus Is King is a Christian hip-hop record, and features a significant gospel influence. Complex journalist Eric Skelton considered that it was not a sonic departure from West's previous work, noting its "healthy doses of bass, pretty chords, hip hop sensibilities, and pop melodies." and claimed that it borrows elements from his past albums such as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Ye, and The Life of Pablo (2016), while Samuel J. Robinson of Rolling Stone highlighted its use of trap drums, ambient flourishes and samples. Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick viewed Jesus Is King as where "West has confounded expectations once again with a set of dramatic, evangelical hip hop testimonials." ==Themes and lyrics==

and Kanye West meeting in October 2018|West references the Thirteenth Amendment on "On God" and "Hands On". In October 2018, West met with then-US president Donald Trump and discussed altering the amendment. Tyson was present in the studio for the recording of Jesus Is King and helped tweak certain lyrics "to articulate the gospel more clearly" despite claiming that the work is all West's and Tyson did not view himself as writing any of the songs. Tyson had discussed both justification and sanctification with West in their conversation. {{Listen Within the album's opening track "Every Hour", the Sunday Service Choir implores people to "sing until the power of the Lord comes down." West references his problematic relationship with both Christianity and his father Ray West on "Follow God." This followed on from West having previously called for the repeal of the amendment in September and October 2018, which he did because of the penal labor exemption that suggests that the enslavement of convicts is legal. The imagery used in "Water" is a reference to the Christian sacrament of baptism. On "Everything We Need", West delivers "Kanye-isms" about Eve making apple juice, while Ty Dolla Sign and Clemons deliver rapturous vocals. In Jesus Is King, West teaches the doctrine of the Social Kingship of Christ through his advocation of "defying worldly authorities" and "seek[ing] liberty from lower powers by submitting to a higher one." ==Release and promotion==

in LA. Under Jesus is King listening party.|West previewed the album at The Forum in the County of Los Angeles in October 2019. Originally titled Yandhi, the album was set for release on September 29, 2018, but was postponed to November 23, 2018. West later postponed the album again in the month that it had been first postponed to, though no new release date was set at the time. On August 29, 2019, Kardashian announced Jesus Is King with the release date of September 27, of that year, alongside a notebook featuring the track list via Instagram. A representative for West reported to E! News that Jesus Is King would be his "latest album." During a Sunday Service performance on September 16, 2019, West reconfirmed the release date that Kardashian had tweeted out. On September 27, 2019, following a Sunday Service performance in Detroit, West previewed the album and the accompanying film also entitled Jesus Is King at the Fox Theatre. Kardashian then announced that the former had been pushed back two days to be released on September 29, 2019, stating that mixing had to be finalized and that there'd be two more listening sessions in Chicago and New York. The album also missed that date with no explanation provided by either West or Kardashian. West ultimately confirmed via Twitter on October 21 that this was the official release date and pre-ordering for Jesus Is King began the following day. The album and its accompanying film were previewed again at The Forum in the County of Los Angeles on October 23, 2019, for 17,000 attendees, two days before the release of them. On October 25, 2019, Jesus Is King was released for digital download and streaming by GOOD Music, distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Prior to the latter's release, West had performed the song "Water" live with the Sunday Service Choir in April 2019. Jesus Is King was released as a CD in the United States on March 27, 2020, through West's record labels. At the same time as Jesus Is King being released, West launched "a clothing line depicting Christ blessing the people." After its launch, the Jesus Is King clothing line had sold out. Some clothing also features gold-colored typographic logos with West's name and the album title, its catalog number AR13331A, and 33RPM LP. Songs from The Life of Pablo were performed as well, which Kardashian referenced on Twitter, while she also tweeted out in excitement over the event. On November 16, 2019, it was announced that West would be performing at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church the next day to promote the album. Simultaneously, tickets were made available for free through Ticketmaster, and were gone within seven minutes. Tracks from Jesus Is King were performed alongside material that West released earlier in his career, including "Jesus Walks" (2004). After the SNL performance, full-size costumes from the "I Love It" music video were put up for sale online. West recorded a music video for "We Got Love" with Taylor on October 1, 2018, in the TMZ parking lot, The recording of Minaj's verse on the song, entitled "New Body", was prominently showcased in an April 2019 episode of American television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The leaks were precipitated by "group buys", which are online money-pooling efforts organized by fans in order to illegally purchase the tracks from artists. Producers who worked on "Law of Attraction" denounced the leak of their track as an "invasion of privacy," while the track was ultimately scrapped and re-recorded as "Use This Gospel" for release on Jesus Is King. Of the Yandhi leaks, Pusha T wrote on Twitter that "it ruins all that we have in store for [you] guys." Paul Thompson, writing for The Fader, noted that the leaks did not receive mainstream attention and were a "minor story" compared to West songs that had leaked previously. Thompson cited factors such as the lukewarm reception of Ye and that songs do not typically enter "popular canon" nowadays unless they're released on streaming services. "Everything We Need" was recorded as a new version of the track "The Storm", with the former being released on Jesus Is King. In December 2019, the track "Bye Bye Baby" leaked online, featuring opening vocals by American rapper Mykki Blanco. Singles No pre-album singles were released by West for Jesus Is King, with West having not gone through a proper pre-album single release for a while by 2019. On November 5, 2019, the song was selected by West for release as Jesus Is Kings lead single in the US. The song was serviced to mainstream radio stations across the United Kingdom on November 8 of the year, through West's record labels as the first single in the UK. That same day, an accompanying music video was released. Within the video, West and his father walk together in snow, while the two of them also drive ATV's in the visual. On November 12, 2019, "Follow God" was sent to US radio stations by West's record labels as the lead single from the album, with West using the common strategy of pushing a track as an album's single after the release. On July 20, 2020, "Follow God" was certified platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for amassing 500,000 certified units. The song was later certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling 200,000 units in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2020. "Closed on Sunday" was released as the second single from Jesus Is King on November 28, 2019. That same day, a music video for the track was released, coinciding with the date of Thanksgiving in the US for that year. The video features West cuddling with Kardashian and the couple's children North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm West, and the family walk hand-in-hand within the visual. ==Critical reception==

Jesus Is King was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 53, based on 25 reviews. Rawiya Kameir from Pitchfork called it "a markedly more cohesive and enjoyable album than I believed him capable of creating at this juncture" but criticized Jesus Is King for being "largely focused on the ways in which religion has served Kanye himself." In a mixed review, Rolling Stones Brendan Klinkenberg looked at the album as where West is "no longer poking at contradictions, but reveling in a newfound zeal," though concluded by writing that "it will likely be placed alongside ye" in West's discography "as a distinctly lightweight entry" despite being "filled with moments of undeniable brilliance." Veteran critic Robert Christgau found the album "grandiose, self-involved, uninspired, plus there are the underlying politics, which far as I'm concerned verge on evil," while saying of West, "Spiritually he's an egomaniacal shell, and the music is nothing. May he be born again for real, but I'm not holding my breath." Accolades On Rolling Stones list of the best hip-hop albums of 2019, Jesus Is King was ranked at number 16. The album was listed at the same position on the list of the year's best foreign albums by Afisha Daily, from Russia. Complex named Jesus Is King as the 50th best album of 2019, with Skelton praising the production but criticizing the songwriting, despite concluding that "it's certainly worth a listen" even with some faults. Caramanica ranked the album as the ninth best of the year, complementing it for showing West channeling his older self. Jesus Is King was listed by The Mercury News as the 44th best album of the 2010s, with Jim Harrington writing of it: "Arguably the boldest, bravest album of the decade." Conversely, Jesus Is King has been ranked as the worst Kanye West album by Consequence. Jesus Is King was nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 51st GMA Dove Awards. The album won the awards of Top Christian Album and Top Gospel Album at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, becoming the first album to ever win both of the awards. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Jesus Is King was awarded Best Contemporary Christian Music Album. This stood as West's 22nd win at the Grammy Awards, resulting in him briefly tying Jay-Z as the most awarded hip-hop performer in the ceremony's history, though that title was reclaimed again by Jay-Z when he won his 23rd Grammy later that night. ==Sequels==

In a pre-recorded promotional interview with Zane Lowe released a day before Jesus Is King, West announced that an album by the Sunday Service Choir entitled Jesus Is Born would be released on Christmas 2019. During a special Christmas Eve performance by the Sunday Service Choir, the director Jason White addressed the audience and reconfirmed the album's release date. Jesus Is Born was ultimately released on streaming services for Christmas afternoon on December 25, 2019. Klinkenberg viewed the album as the "companion to Jesus Is King." In May 2020, American cinematographer Arthur Jafa revealed that West's upcoming album would be titled ''God's Country, which was later renamed to Donda'' in July 2020 and released in August 2021. On November 18, 2019, West announced on Twitter that he was working with Dr. Dre on a remix project entitled Jesus Is King Part II. The announcement was posted with a picture of West and Dr. Dre in the studio together. On November 27, 2019, Ronny J confirmed that he had recently been in Wyoming to work on the album. During a December 2019 Sunday Service performance, West stated that he had always wished he could collaborate with Dr. Dre and added, "Who knew all I had to do was do an album for God and then Dr. Dre would start mixing my beats? Spend your time on God, and he'll handle the rest." That same month, Consequence confirmed that he was in Wyoming when asked about recording for Jesus Is King Part II. In February 2020, American record producer and Dr. Dre associate Dawaun Parker alluded to his involvement on the album. In March 2020, a reworked version of "LA Monster", featuring production and mixing done by Dr. Dre, leaked online. West reconfirmed the Dr. Dre rework of Jesus Is King on June 26, 2020, as part of his "#WestDayEver" promotion. American rapper Snoop Dogg shared footage of Dr. Dre and West finishing up the album in a recording studio. On July 18, 2020, West briefly shared a track list of his then-upcoming tenth studio album Donda that included "Up from the Ashes" (a song initially intended for the Jesus is King sequel). On September 18, 2020, West announced on Twitter that American rapper Eminem would feature on the remix of "Use This Gospel." In September 2020, producer Dem Jointz hinted at the possibility of the remix album never surfacing, despite its quality content because, in his own words, West was excited over other different projects that were not the remix album. Despite the lack of news thereafter, a track titled "Glory" featuring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg from this album was used in a Beats Electronics commercial that debuted on August 5, 2021. The song "Up From The Ashes", which was originally slated to be a track on Jesus is King Part II, was released officially on November 14, 2021, bundled with the deluxe track listing of Donda. The Eminem remix version of the song "Use This Gospel", also originally intended for Jesus is King Part II, was released within the DJ Khaled album God Did on August 26, 2022. On September 25, 2023, Jesus Is King II finally surfaced online in leaks. The album featured guest appearances from Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Anderson .Paak, Travis Scott, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Marsha Ambrosius, and ASAP Ferg. ==Commercial performance==

On the US Billboard 200, Jesus Is King opened at number one with 264,000 album-equivalent units, of which 109,000 were pure album sales, ranking as the second-largest sales week of 2019 for an R&B/hip-hop album. The chart-topping position stood as the sixth time that West did so with an album in the 2010s, tying him for second place with fellow rapper Future and Canadian singer Justin Bieber for most number one albums of the decade. By doing so, Jesus Is King gave West his first appearance on the respective charts and the sales stood as the biggest unit week on both charts. In its second week on the Billboard 200, Jesus Is King did not remain atop the chart, falling to number two with 72,000 album-equivalent units, experiencing a 73% decline in sales. On June 16, 2020, the former was certified gold by the RIAA for pushing 500,000 certified units in the US. The album stood as West's seventh number one album in Canada and his second consecutive chart topper. The reign of the album at the top position continued into its second week on the ARIA Albums chart, giving West his first album to remain at number one for over a week in Australia and also leading to him ranking as 139th on the list of "Accumulated Weeks at No.1: 1965 to 2019", while placing West at number 16 for accumulated weeks at the chart's summit within the 2010s decade. Jesus Is King gave West his second chart-topping solo album in Norway by debuting at number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart. However, this gave West his sixth top 10 album on the chart. On the Sverigetopplistan albums chart, the album reached number two, tying with The Life of Pablo for West's highest-charting album in Sweden, while reaching the same position on the Lithuanian Albums chart. ==Track listing==

Track listing and credits adapted from Tidal and the BMI Repertoire. Notes • signifies a co-producer • signifies an additional producer Sample credits • "Selah" contains samples of "Revelations 19:1" from Jesus Is Born, originally performed by the New Jerusalem Baptism Choir under the direction of Curtis Hayes and Jeffrey LaValley. • "Jesus Is Lord" contains samples of "Un Homme Dans La Nuit", written by Claude Léveillée. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from Tidal. Musicians • Sunday Service Choir – additional vocals • Ant Clemons – additional vocals • Bongo ByTheWay – additional vocals • Bradford Lewis – guitar • Federico Vindver – uncredited vocals • Labrinth – additional vocals • Kenny G – saxophone • Jesse McGinty – tuba , trombone , trumpet , saxophone , French horn , euphonium • Mike Cordone – trumpet Engineers • Josh Berg – recording • Josh Bales – recording • Shane Fitzgibbon – recording • Zack Djurich – recording • Jesse Ray Ernster – recording • Steven Felix – recording • Randy Urbanski – recording • Jamie Peters – recording • Andrew Drucker – recording • Federico Vindver – mixing • Mike Dean – mixing , mastering • Jess Jackson – mixing • Manny Marroquin – mixing • Chris Galland – mix engineering • Sage Skolfield – assistant mixing • Sean Solymar – assistant mixing • Robin Florent – assistant mixing • Scott Desmarais – assistant mixing • Jeremie Inhaber – assistant mixing ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==