Kanye West has increasingly been the butt of many jokes, but he just may get the last laugh — of 2019 at least. That’s because he’s capped off an ultra-successful past year by releasing his second album in as many months.
MORE: A Timeline Of How Kanye West Went From Woke To Sunken
“Jesus Is Born” came out on Christmas Day, underscoring why the semi-secular-turned-full-blown gospel rapper recently landed such an enviable placement on Forbes’ list ranking top-earning musicians of the year.
But what seemed to be getting lost in the mix since Kanye’s “Jesus Is King” album dropped on Oct. 25 was the role his Sunday Service series of shows in open spaces and churches alike played in the lead-up to the Christmas Day release. During those performances, Kanye would parade out a full church choir, robes and all, to put a gospel twist on some of his biggest hits while also performing standard church fare often heard in places where predominately Black people worship.
Enter “Jesus Is Born,” released with the impeccable timing that highlights the creative marketing genius that has long been a hallmark of all of his musical projects. While it was too soon to offer any estimates of streaming or sales numbers, early returns — if social media is any indication — suggested a fine blend of reactions to the album, further confirming Kanye’s ability to get people talking about his music for better and for worse.
Of course, some folks found it impossible to separate Kanye from his high-profile relationship with Donald Trump, who is decidedly ungodly in his racist approach to policy that has in part arguably contributed to multiple deaths of young, unaccompanied migrants who were detained by immigration police at the border, among other domestic atrocities. In spite of that, it appeared that the majority of folks tweeting about “Jesus Is Born” were able to put aside any political biases and instead focus on the religious music which, for the record, they said was amazing and inspiring.
For others, the album served as a guilty pleasure of sorts since, apparently, they didn’t want anyone knowing they co-signed anything with which Kanye is associated, the latest indication that the rapper’s toxicity levels remained off the charts.
Some people were compelled to tell you how exactly they felt about the album by expressing themselves in tweets with words. But others found it easier to post memes and gifs to explain exactly how they were feeling during and after listening to “Jesus Is Born.” Scroll down to get a better understanding of how social media has been greeting Kanye’s new album.
