Rapper Kanye West shocked fans with the release of his first gospel album, “Jesus is King.”

The initial announcement of “Jesus is King” threw fans off as they did not know what to expect. West previously announced an album named “Yandhi” that never came to fruition. Fans were skeptical if “Jesus is King” would ever even be released.

“Prior to the album coming out, I honestly didn’t know if he was even going to come out with an album after all the hype he built up for Yandhi, and how am I supposed to believe Kanye was going to put out an album titled “Jesus is King?” Something just didn’t add up,” said Cole Huebner a small business major and a huge Kanye fan.

On Friday Oct. 25, “Jesus is King” was put onto music platforms around the world. The album was set to drop at 12 a.m. but due to mixing issues it did not come out until 12 p.m.

Fans were irritated by the delay as they began to think they fell for the “same old Kanye” and there would be no album.

“I stayed up until midnight to hear it only to be met with nothing. This really took the excitement out of listening to it the next day angry and tired,” said Megan Kelly, a chemistry major and a fan of rap.

When the album was finally released it was met with mix reactions from West’s fanbase and many other music fans. Members of the Christian community found it “very odd” that a man so controversial as West would release a Gospel album.

Arlo Vooz, a secondary education major, said, “I’m not the biggest fan of Kanye and the things he does, but I did listen to his new album and I respect him for trying something different and not doing horrible to be honest.”

Although met with mixed reactions from fans, the album is doing well on the music charts. All 11 tracks on “Jesus is King” have acquired spots on the Billboard Top 100 songs. The song “Follow God” is currently at number seven on the list.

Even though the album has done well on the charts that does not mean it has done well in the eyes of the fans, with many saying that this is not the West grew up listening to.

Jacob Geruntho, a psychology major, stated, “I think it’s a good album but probably my second to least favorite Kanye album. Although I can understand why certain people and fans would like it, its just not my thing.”

What’s next for West? Will he continue down this path of religious albums? Or will we see the return of the “old Kanye?”