Lyrically, the song features West delivering the gospel about his life with the newfound context of Christianity. "On God" received moderately positive reviews from music critics, who mostly commended the production. They often focused on the synths, though critical commentary towards West's rapping was somewhat negative. The song was one of the Award Winning Gospel Songs at the 2021 BMI Gospel Awards. It reached number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and charted within the top 50 in eight other countries, including Canada and Latvia. The song has been certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Background
Young Thug suggested over Twitter that he would appear on the song, though he was ultimately not featured.
American record producer Michael "CameOne" Cerda developed a passion for music production in 2007, being inspired by his friend and mentor Alex Vazquez to create beats daily. The producer later connected with a representative from West's record labelGOOD Music in 2019 and subsequently received a text message about a sample package he made, "Hold this for Ye."[1] Cerda experienced disbelief and shock after reading the text and in the summer of 2019, the representative confirmed that he would be a contributor to Jesus Is King.[1] He revealed that "On God" was originally composed by him in 2017 before he knew the song would be on the album, crafting the melody on a Prophet Rev 2 and Moog Sub 37.[2] Cerda also said he was inspired by his love for synth heavy melodies and for the sample's creation process, he began with the arpeggiator and mostly worked with The Legend plugin, using FL Studio 11.[2] The song was produced by West, BoogzDaBeast, and Cerda, with co-production from record producer Pi'erre Bourne and additional production from Federico Vindver. The producers co-wrote it with Cyhi the Prynce and Mustard.[a][3]
In 2016, fellow rapper Young Thug contributed vocals to West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo.[4] On September 18, 2018, shortly after West announced his then-upcoming album Yandhi, the rapper tweeted in response that if not featured on it, he will never speak to him again and ended the tweet with "#OnGod".[5] West's wife Kim Kardashian later revealed a track list for Jesus Is King on September 27, 2019, including "On God".[6] Speculation began that the track was to include a feature from Young Thug due to the title, after Yandhi had been scrapped.[7][8][9] During a listening session for the album in New York City on September 29, 2019, vocals from the rapper were not included.[9] However, Young Thug asked West over Twitter if his "verse about the devil" was still on Jesus Is King three days later, marking the first time he tweeted to him since September 2018.[4][7][8][9] West did not reply that same day and the rapper ultimately failed to make the final cut.[8][10] Prior to referencing the Constitution of the United States' 13th Amendment that freed the slaves on "On God", West had controversially said in 2018 that slavery "was a choice".[11][12] He met with 2017–2021 US PresidentDonald Trump that same year and suggested to "abolish" the amendment while wearing a Trump hat, stating that it is similar to "a trap door", so should not be part of the constitution.[13] West explained how the writers of the 13th Amendment "didn't look like the people they were amending" and it was illegal for any black Americans to read at the time, meaning that reading the amendment led to "get[ting] locked up and turned into a slave".[13]
Musically, "On God" is an electronic track,[14] with elements of gospel and house music.[11] It stands as a contrast from other tracks on Jesus Is King, going against the primarily gospel and hip hop style.[14][15] The song samples the line "Yo Pi'erre, you wanna come out here?" from the American sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, using it as Pi'erre Bourne's producer tag.[16] Its melody is reliant on lush synths from Cerda,[2][15][17] which crescendo and were described as reminiscent of West's third studio album Graduation (2007).[11][18][19] According to AllMusic writer Neil Z. Yeung, the song contains "digital swirling".[20]Trapdrops and loud drums are also featured.[11][19] West's rapping is accompanied at times by an interpolation of his 2012 collaborative single "Mercy" with Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz, which in turn samples YB's "Lambo" from the same year.[16][19][21]
In the lyrics of "On God", West preaches the gospel about his life within the context of Christianity after converting to it.[18][20][22] He focuses on how religion has served him, using lines such as "How you got so much favor on your side?/'Accept him as your lord and savior,' I replied".[23] West also mentions the 13th Amendment, referencing his slavery comments and highlighting his stance on prison reform by rapping he has "gotta end it".[12][19][24][25] The rapper uses his taxes paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to excuse pricing his merchandise and Yeezy sneakers highly,[26] justifying the prices to feed his family[27][28] and not have to appear on the TV series Dancing with the Stars.[12][19][29]
Release and reception
On October 25, 2019, "On God" was included as the fifth track on West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King.[20] The song was met with moderately positive reviews from music critics, with general praise for the production. Cyclone Whener from The Music highlighted the song's combination of gospel and house music, noting that it sometimes recalls the era of Daft Punk's Discovery (2001) and going on to compliment West's progressive lyricism.[11] At musicOMH, Ben Devlin declared that the song "dazzles with shiny synth textures".[17] Echoing this sentiment, Jordan Bassett of NME wrote it "shimmers with space-age synths".[15] Writing for Spectrum Culture, Daniel Bromfield cited the song as including "one of the great Pi'erre Bourne beats".[30] In Rolling Stone, Brendan Klinkenberg lauded the beat's "effervescent triumph".[31] Will Rosebury from Clash observed that the song is able "to thematically balance out" through West touching on "his life within the context of his new found faith", while NOW Magazine's Matthew Progress praised his prison reform stance for offering a left-wing political position.[22][25] In a lukewarm review for The Independent, Roisin O'Connor picked it as a "rare standout" on the album for West's referencing of the 13th Amendment and "the Grammys' latency at recognising black artists", yet criticized him rapping against division when that "is all he seems to be doing" as a whole.[24] Alphonse Pierre expressed mixed feelings in Pitchfork, declaring that West's skills "as a studio curator and beatmaker haven't completely waned" and positively comparing the song's synths to Graduation, though noted his "sloppy rapping" and called the lyrical content "self-sacrifice at its most self-absorbed".[19] Similarly, Entertainment Weekly's Brian Josephs said that the "glitzy synths" are reminiscent of the album, yet complained of West preaching too heavily.[18] Z. Yeung highlighted the "digital swirling" of the production, while disregarding West's "troubling alignment with prosperity gospel teachings" as embarrassing.[20]
A number of reviewers criticized West's verse, with some panning his lyricism and a few citing a lack of originality.
Some reviews were negative. Wren Graves from Consequence derided the song as "twinkling cheese"; he branded it "a dollar-store ripoff" of West's 2010 single "All of the Lights" and was disappointed in the lyrical content that "feels less than sincere", despite coming across as promising.[12] The staff of No Ripcord assured that the rapper using "excuses to charge high prices to feed his family" makes him sound like "a petulant rich man who needs to justify his outrageous choices".[27] On a similar note, RapReviews' Ryan Feyre said West "prays about not letting his family starve" while not realizing "he's a part of the richest family in the entertainment industry", seeing his excuse for high prices as weak.[28] In a review of Jesus Is King for Variety, Andrew Barker named "On God" one of the worst tracks and criticized West's lyricism.[29] Steven Edelstone provided a highly negative review at Paste, picking the "party-happy" song as one of the album's low points and stating West "attempts to defend his expensive clothing" on what is supposed to be "a spiritual anthem".[32]
^Bromfield, Daniel (October 26, 2019). "Kanye West: Jesus Is King". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 44. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 44. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
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