"Jesus Is Lord" is a song by American recording artistKanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King. The song was produced by West, Angel Lopez, Brian Miller, Federico Vindver and Timbaland. The producers wrote it alongside Claude Léveillée and Sean Leon, the former of which had a songwriting credit added due to the song sampling his work. The song features samples of "Un Homme Dans La Nuit", performed by Léveillée. The song received mixed reviews from music critics, some of whom were negative towards the length. An alternative version, titled "Every Knee Shall Bow", is featured in the album's accompanying film of the same name.
Background and composition
Since french-canadian actor and musician Claude Léveillée had died eight years before 2019, West sampling "Un Homme Dans La Nuit" within "Jesus Is Lord" meant that he used a posthumous sample of Léveillée. On their Facebook page, the independent record labelAudiogramquestioned how West found the sample despite it not being available on streaming services. As a result of the sample, Léveillée received credit on the song as a writer. It was also written by West, Angel Lopez, Brian Miller, Frederico Vindver, Timbaland, and Sean Leon. The horns and piano of "Jesus Is Lord" are sampled from the recording "Un Homme Dans La Nuit", as performed by Léveillée. The song consists of West singing a chorus, in which he requests, "Every knee shall bow / Every tongue confess."
Release and promotion
"Jesus Is Lord" was released on October 25, 2019, as the eleventh and final track on West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King. An alternative version of the song entitled "Every Knee Shall Bow" is included in the album's accompanying concert film of the same name, which was released simultaneously with the album. In the pre-release track listing of the film, the version was not included. It features horns and plays over the closing credits of Jesus Is King.
Reception
"Jesus Is Lord" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Despite calling its length "much-too-short," Sam C. Mac of Slant Magazine labeled the song a "triumphant, brassy fanfare" and questioned it being the "most baroque production" from West since his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The Daily Telegraph writer Neil McCormickviewed West "proclaiming 'Jesus Is Lord'" as surprising, since West "once rapped that he'd 'rather be a d--k than a swallower'." In Consequence of Sound, Wren Graves stated the song "seems to stop, unresolved, in the middle of a thought." In a highly negative review, Ed Power from The Irish Times said that as the album "finally" closes with the song, "fans will indeed wonder if Kanye might not have done better overruling his pastor and hanging up his mic."
