Album Review: Jesus Is King - Kanye West

After over a year of build-up, false release dates, and politically charged rantings and ravings, Kanye West has finally released his 9th solo studio album Jesus Is King. If you can’t tell by the title, Mr. West is proclaiming to have been recently saved by the Christian faith, and his most recent album is meant to tell his fans and listeners “what Jesus has done for him”, according to him during a conversation with esteemed interviewer Zane Lowe for Apple Music. In usual Kanye fashion this album is completely unique from any of his previous projects, but it still left me scratching my head and unsure of how we got to where we are with one of the most hard-to-understand artists in the genre. To put it bluntly, I miss the old Kanye.

Kanye West was once, in my opinion, one of the most creative artists in all of pop culture. A revolutionary producer, social provocateur, and always-unpredictable presence, Kanye represented the best qualities of a “woke” performer. His music was never too overtly preachy, but his older albums were packed full with well thought out social commentaries reflecting issues not only in his community but of those felt by millions across the country. Every album seemed purposeful, intentional, and crafted to a specificity only he could achieve, and unfortunately that magic has dissipated to the point of being nearly non-existent. Even if you remove the cultural context from Jesus Is King (which I think you never should - context informs all art), it just isn’t up to the high standard Mr. West has previously set for himself.

To clarify: I have absolutely no problem with Kanye West releasing religiously-themed music. Artists should feel free to share their life experiences with their audiences, and it’s becoming apparent that the last year has been a rebirth for Kanye personally. Some of my favorite Kanye songs, “Jesus Walks”, “Ultralight Beam”, and “Saint Pablo”, directly invoke religious imagery and symbolism in a beautiful and compelling way. The problem with Jesus Is King is that, to me, these themes feel hallow. There is a lot of musical potential on this project, and not every song is terrible (a couple are actually very enjoyable to listen to), but for some reason the project as a whole just totally falls short for me. Most of the lyrics on the album are nonsecular, but for some reason, I don’t feel like there’s a lasting message like there has been on previous faith-based Kanye tracks. I think there needed to be more thematic substance for this project to be successful in my eyes. I’m not going to go into too much depth about why I find this album problematic contextually, but I would also like to clarify that any disagreements I have with Kanye’s ideologies and opinions have nothing to do with his identity, but instead have to do with his logical inconsistencies and substantive shortcomings. That’s all I’ll say there… let’s not get riled up.

The worry I had for Kanye’s mental stability is starting to lessen as he seems more and more comfortable in his own skin with every public appearance he makes. I’m glad that he’s making music that seems to be speaking to a lot of people, but it just isn’t doing so for me. The intellectual artist that I enjoyed for so long seems to be of the past now, and I will still enjoy his older projects, but this just completely missed the mark for me.

Good tracks: “Selah”, “Follow God”, “Use This Gospel”

Bad tracks: “Closed On Sunday”, “On God”, “Hands On”

Score: 3/10

Best Foot Forward: A Sneaker Series (Part 7)

Spending yesterday’s rainy afternoon walking around SneakerCon Atlanta with my girlfriend has me excited to write and post Part 7 of Best Foot Forward. Two of the pairs that I will cover today are nostalgic to me, and the other two are new additions to my collection that I’m happy to have.

Pair 1 (Upper Left): Nike Blazer ‘77 in Vintage White

This 2019 release went under the radar to a certain degree. While the Nike X Off-White collaboration brought some attention back to the Blazer silhouette, this specific non-collaborative pair isn’t making many best-of lists for the year. That doesn’t take away from how much I enjoy this pair, though. A bold contrasting black swoosh stands out from the white leather upper, and this pair goes nicely with nearly any outfit. Perfect shoe going into the Fall season.

Pair 2 (Upper Right): Common Projects Achilles Low in Black / White

Since covering this pair in a recent clothing haul post, I’ve worn these multiple times and I’m loving them. A simple black and white color scheme pairs perfectly with monochromatic looks, and the sleek silhouette of the CP Achilles will never go out of style. Not much else to say here besides the fact that I see these getting a lot of wear over the next couple months.

Pair 3 (Bottom Left): Air Jordan 3 Retro “Black Cement”

This specific pair of Jordan’s are one of the first Jordan shoes I remember discovering, and upon seeing them I thought they were one of the coolest and most unique designs I had seen. Black and red is hard to mess up, but introducing elephant print is certainly a gamble. Luckily enough, the Jordan 3 pulls it off, and this iconic pair is one of the biggest streetwear staples.

Pair 4 (Bottom Right): Nike Air Force 1 High “Wheat”

This is a simple pair of Air Force 1s in a simple light brown colorway, but there is more significance that makes this pair special to me. I wore these a lot right around the time I met my girlfriend two years ago, so I associate them with very nostalgic and happy times. This will always be a special pair to me for that very reason.

What makes a pair of sneakers special isn’t how much they cost or how hyped up they are, but instead the personal significance they have to you. Every pair that I have in my collection makes me happy in one way or another, and I love being part of a sneaker-loving community who shares the same passion as I do for what is such a trivial thing to the average person. Thanks for reading my post!

Movie Review: Joker

Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Batman’s most infamous nemesis was widely heralded as a masterful performance after the 2008 release of The Dark Knight. Time has been kind to that film, and after Jared Leto’s failed attempt to recapture the magic that was Ledger’s haunting and larger-than-life Joker, fans were sure that there would never be another performance of this character that could compete with what Heath Ledger was able to do on-screen. While I’m not here to compare and contrast Joaquin Phoenix’s 2019 performance with Ledger’s in 2008, I’m confident saying this new take on Joker is unique enough to stand on its own as a masterful character piece in an incredible movie.

I truly didn’t expect director Todd Philips and company to take the direction they did with this film. Without spoiling too much, this is an entirely different take on Arthur Fleck as a character. Instead of cool and charismatic, Phoenix’s Joker is broken and hurt. Instead of the character’s iconic laugh being maniacal and strong in its intention, it was pained and weak in its impulsivity. Watching Arthur being beat down by life almost led me to feel sympathy for him, but in the end, I couldn’t help to root against what the cruel world had led him to become.

Joker works both as an incredibly well-delivered origin story and as a commentary on the darkest sides of ignored mental illness. I intensely disagree with the narrative that this film inherently promotes violence. This film instead encourages us to treat each other kindly despite our differences, and demonstrates the negative consequences that come from treating those who have less or are not as privileged in a rude way, in the most shocking fashion possible.

I can’t give enough praise to this film. Any awards that Joker can be nominated for, it should immediately be in the conversation to win. This movie thrives stylistically and thematically, and Phoenix gives a career-defining performance. This is a must-see, incredible movie with only minor problems that I would have to spoil to explain. Great stuff, albeit very, very unsettling.

SCORE: 9/10

Album Review: uknowhatimsayin¿ - Danny Brown

Detroit rapper Danny Brown has returned with his newest album offering uknowhatimsayin¿, and he is as wonderfully funky and comedic as ever. While not nearly as inventive as Atrocity Exhibition was, this project spends some of the well-earned freedom Danny Brown has previously garnered through his prior projects and doesn’t disappoint. This isn’t his best album, but it’s certainly very enjoyable.

The highs are very high on this project. “Dirty Laundry”, “3 Tearz”, and Savage Nomad” are standout tracks that I can see myself listening to on a regular basis. The production, bars, and brevity of this album are all appreciated for their excellency, but there’s just something missing from this project that doesn’t push it to the level of amazingness that his earlier projects have provided for me.

I’m wondering if I was expecting a certain level of experimentation and novelty that just wasn’t bound to come from this project. Atrocity Exhibition was so fresh and outlandish that it immediately stood out and set itself apart, and this album just doesn’t do that in the same way to me. Danny Brown is one of the more consistently solid rappers in the field right now, but part of me wishes he would continue pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable and expected in the genre right now. This album is conventionally very good, when I was looking for something unconventionally great.

Brown’s return to a sort of classicism is surely to be appreciated by those who aren’t impressed sheerly by experimentation. Instead of standing out from the well-produced instrumentals behind him as he previous has, Brown melts right into their grooves and finds a comfortable place to flex his ingenious lyrical abilities. This album is more heartfelt and playful than it is guttural, and that is okay because it’s such an easy and enjoyable listen. Danny Brown has earned his right to make whatever kind of music he wants, and this album is further proof of how that is a good thing. Excited to see what comes next from such an eccentric presence in hip-hop.

Favorite Tracks: “Dirty Laundry”, “3 Tearz”, “Savage Nomad”

Least Favorite Track: Change Up

SCORE: 8/10

Tyler, The Creator IGOR Tour Concert Review

Following the releases of his two most recent and fantastic albums Flower Boy and IGOR, I knew that I had to go see Tyler, The Creator live in concert. While some view Tyler as controversial (he was banned from the UK in 2015), I see him as the always-maturing artist that he is and enjoy his music very much. I’m happy to say that seeing him live in concert was worth every penny.

The opening acts at this show, Goldlink and Blood Orange, were decent. I think that if they switched the order in which they performed, the energy in State Farm Arena would’ve been a lot better throughout the whole night. Goldlink hyped everyone just for Blood Orange to mellow everyone out again. That’s okay, though - the following act was spectacular.

Tyler’s signature opening on this tour of slowly walking into and then soaking up the spotlight is just awesome. There’s also something cool about his rotation of loudly colored suits that makes the color reveal fun at every show. “IGOR’S THEME” works just as well in a concert setting as it did on the album, and I immediately knew that I was in for a treat when the beat hit and Tyler’s amazingly spastic dance moves hit the stage.

There was a good balance struck between performing songs off the new project and pulling out old classics like “Tamale” and “Yonkers” which made him famous in the first place. The crowd seemed to know every song, as did I, and the energy was fantastic during the entirety of Tyler’s set. The lighting and effects during the show fit in very well with the theme of the night, and I’m glad to have been able to take some decent pictures and videos. Ending things with “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” was the perfect way to cap off a great night.

I feel like even if you aren’t familiar with Tyler’s entire discography, it’s worth seeing him live in concert. Also, take someone you love like how I took my girlfriend. IGOR was a fantastic album, and I’ll be proudly repping the merch I got at the show while listening to the album. Great, great show.