First, let me say that I am not a fan of either Kanye or hip-hop music. I find his public persona boorish. The genre has always left me cold. I could never get into the music side of it. The lyrics were typically misogynistic, overtly sexual, narcissistic, and obscene. So that may color my opinion.
People who should know say that Kanye has had a real conversion experience. He still likes to get his name out in public but he hasn't drunkenly taken a microphone away from Taylor Swift recently. We will eventually see if his life produces fruit or not.
Now to the album. I have listened three times now. The songs are short and the entire album clocks in at about a short 27 minutes. The short songs make it hard to have time to get into any of the tracks. By the time I feel like I'm getting a song, it's gone. Not being a fan of the genre, I don't know if that's typical.
Musically, I don't care much for what I've heard, but, once again, I am not a fan of hip-hop in general.
It's in the lyrics where this album shines for me. It is full of faith and sincere. It is the expressions of a new believer who is still excited about what he has found. Not much depth, but depth has rarely been a feature of Christian pop music.
The strongest songs for me are "God Is" and "Hands On." The former contains these lines:
Every time I look up, I see God's faithfulness
And it shows just how much He is miraculous
I can't keep it to myself, I can't sit here and be still
Everybody, I will tell 'til the whole world is healed
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, all the things He has in store
From the rich to the poor, all are welcome through the door
You won't ever be the same when you call on Jesus' name
Listen to the words I'm sayin', Jesus saved me, now I'm sane
Or consider this from "Hands On":
Told the devil that I'm going on a strike
Told the devil when I see him, on sight
I've been working for you my whole life
Told the devil that I'm going on a strike
I've been working for you my whole life
Nothing worse than a hypocrite
In short, Kanye has produced an interesting album expressing his new-found faith in Jesus. I sincerely hope that, unlike Bob Dylan, this really sticks and he keeps on walking with Christ. I don't care if he produces any more music as long as he stays strong in the faith.
