Get your soul sanctified on the Kanye West JESUS IS KING thread

I was at a bar Saturday night and the DJ played "Power" and "Through the Wire" and it kinda hit me that Kanye is sort of the Michael Jackson of this generation, I feel my kids are gonna ask me one day why this guy is so popular and I'll have to explain that he was actually very good once

That is an interesting hypothesis, may I respond with a "what? fuck no"

I don't think this generation has a Michael Jackson but if it's anyone, I'd argue it's Chris Brown

If by Michael Jackson you mean "versatile successful male pop singer that appeals to kids" (but not in *that* way), then the answer is Bruno Mars.

I am pretty sure he means "one-time dominant pop figure who has devolved into ridicule"

("but still has a fervent fanbase who passionately defends any old bullshit s/he releases")

the difference is he's still a dominant figure in pop culture & if you're younger than 14 then you pretty much only know him as an increasingly erratic weirdo

he's still a dominant figure in pop culture

This is a phrase you can define any way you want to, which means it's effectively meaningless. Does "dominant" mean "spawns hordes of imitators"? Does it mean "sells a lot of records" (hint: no, it does not)? Does it mean "journalists like to write about him"? If it's the latter, then forget about it, because the only people more resistant than music journalists to dropping their pre-existing narrative frameworks and allowing new information in are journalists covering US electoral politics. "Kanye West, dominant figure in pop culture" = "Reagan Democrat". It was true once upon a time, but quite a few years have passed and it's time to re-calibrate.

He does sell a lot of records for modern standards. Pretty much every album he has released is at least Gold and he has several multi-platinum ones. The only album of his which can be considered a complete failure is Ye, although Jesus is King seems like it might be another one.

Does "dominant" mean "spawns hordes of imitators"? Does it mean "sells a lot of records" (hint: no, it does not)? Does it mean "journalists like to write about him"?

the answers to all of these questions is a definite yes.

kanye's career has lasted long enough and has been through enough phases that his acolytes come in many forms--J Cole directly springs from wholesome, soul-sampling kanye, and travis scott was a major beneficiary of the yeezus sound.

does he sell a lot of records? well, nobody does except taylor, adele, and tool. his new album is more-than-likely gonna debut at #1 when the Billboard 200 comes out this week.

and i'm pretty sure you know that journalists love writing about him.

he sells a lot of sweatshirts, which inspired famous rapper earl sweatshirt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxIvg0y6vCY

he's also just a big figure in pop culture beyond music

yeezy shoes probably made more money than any rapper except Drake

he's also married to one of the biggest figures in pop culture

I am very angry about how many ass jokes popped into my head after reading M@tt's post

I went to see the new Terminator and somehow the projector person skipped all of the previews, and then played the first eight minutes of this.

I was temporarily very confused as to the new direction of the franchise until I figured out what it was.

angry that you thought of them, or angry that you felt too polite to say them?

xpost

Oh shit I'm dying at that Designing Merch for Kanye vid.

God I just watched that, amazing

Is that the Dunkey video?

I just showed my wife and she refused to believe it was real. So I showed her the merch site and she still thought it was fake. Then I showed her that while many of the items are sold out (!), the sock is still for sale, but she still didn't believe it. Then I put it in the checkout bin and the purchase prompt popped up, and then she believed. She's a believer.

god is good!

He seems to have been heading in this direction since Life of Pablo and probably even Yeezus, but it's clear to me that whatever Kanye does musically from now on is going to be a front for a cynical attempt to sell expensive, badly designed merchandise. Each new album will be rushed, of poor quality, but have a recognisable aesthetic/mood so that hype beasts will buy whatever dumb sweatshirt he puts his name to.

I might argue he’s been working that plan for much longer than you suggest

http://i.gifer.com/UCWX.gif

Well he did warn us that he wanted to be this generation’s Pablo Picasso.

kanye doesn't come across as particularly cynical, if anything he comes across as very sincerely being into whatever he's trying to do no matter how half-baked or scatterbrained the execution is

I suspect the clothing design is shtick, but to me it's the visual design equivalent of his current music production.

xp absolutely otm

i tried to come up with a controp position about this record being good not bad but it's objectively fucking terrible

hallelujah

https://www.vulture.com/2019/10/kanye-west-new-album-jesus-is-born.html

xxp Kids still love Michael Jackson's music. His hits are in Beatles territory whatever weirdness/criminality he devolved into.

Here it is, the sole authoritative review:

https://www.pluggedin.com/music-reviews/album/jesus-is-king

love the "objectionable content" section

I applaud you, kind sir :D

When a well-known artist embraces Jesus with passion and fervor, it can be hard to know how to respond. Is this for real? Is it a phase? Is it going to last? Is it a gimmick?

Otm!

Kanye West’s laser-like focus on Jesus here is breathtaking. But Kanye suspects that some Christians may still have doubts about his sincerity—an experience it seems that he’s already had, according to the song “Hands On”: “What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?/They’ll be the first one to judge me/Make it feel like nobody love me.”

None of us can know whether Kanye will sustain his current level of Christian conviction in the years to come. But his earnest spiritual fervor is undeniable on Jesus Is King. On this album (and in the accompanying short film of the same name), Kanye West takes the spotlight off of himself and shines it unabashedly on Jesus Christ, proclaiming Him King and Savior.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled etc

Courtesy of the guy on the left:

https://www.pluggedin.com/about-us/adam-holz

Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

A few of these might be growers?

Ron Howard voice: they weren’t

He should've got into Satan. The record would have been a lot better.

― billstevejim, Friday, October 25, 2019 2:16 PM bookmarkflaglink

It'd be pretty easy to shop him onto the cover of that Louvin Brothers record. (Him being Satan *or* Kanye.)

chick-fil-a!

was “follow god” on this? I loved that one.

yeah it was. there were a couple bangers even if there was much that was, um, objectionable about the project.

given the rate at which kanye puts out music, I wonder if he might have another release sometime this year. If you've ever wondered what a kanye west divorce album might sound like, it could be imminent

also amazing how I absolutely love at least four of kanye's albums, and yet I never even bothered to listen to this one. he's just fallen so far.

Wasn’t Kanye’s breakout hit “Jesus Walks”?

this is so much worse it's not funny. the problem isn't the christianity it's the sactimonious misogyny and conservatism and really bad music

turns out i like Follow God -it's short , memorable and bounces around like a hit - this was peak Kanye 'uncool'/ I love trump etc phase though wasn't it- which prob explains why it didn't go over

its kinda sweet and funny too

*the giant voice* it is happening again

Kanye played his new album for me & @KDTrey5 last night in Vegas. Man listen! The production is light years ahead of it’s time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again. Any artist who plan on dropping soon should just push it back 😤 #Respectfully

— Respectfully Justin (@JustinLaboy) July 18, 2021

I seriously doubt it

#Respectfully