Review: Washed Us in the Blood Mixes Kanye’s Religious Revolution with the Black Lives Matter Movement

You never know what to expect from Kanye West. He’s one of the greatest zaggers of all time. What, you don’t know what a zagger is? When most people zig, zaggers zag. Kanye has sidestepped expectations throughout his entire career to become the ultimate zagger.

During the buildup to his most recent album, Jesus Is King, how many people actually expected Kanye to drop a gospel album and do away with secular music? The man got us. After he announced “Washed Us in the Blood” as a single for his forthcoming album God’s Country, many expected it to be a continuation of Jesus Is King. But he zagged again.

“Washed Us in the Blood” is a surprising turn for Kanye because it fuses his religious revolution with a political revolution. Make no mistake, Kanye is no stranger to social and political topics, both inside his music and out. However, following his controversial statements about President Donald Trump and his turn to religious music, the idea that he would once again make politics and social justice a key theme in his music is a surprise.

With “Washed Us in the Blood,” the first thing that stands out is the Yeezus-like production. The song has screeching synths reminiscent of “Send It Up.” Kanye also brings an aggressive energy to the track that has not been heard from him since Yeezus. Thematically, the evocation of Yeezus is a startling contrast to his last album, which was all about atoning for past sins. The return of the Yeezus sound is interesting, to say the least. Yeezus was an album filled with industrial grittiness, arrogance, and harshness, a musical and thematical 180 from Jesus Is King. It begs the question if Kanye is abandoning his vigorous new outlook on faith.

However, the lyrical content of the song tells a different story. The intro of the song is a quote from the First Epistle of Peter, and the chorus asks God to cleanse us of our sins. The bridge is just Kanye and Travis Scott, who unfortunately barely makes an impression on the song, asking the Holy Spirit to come down and help now. No, Kanye is not abandoning his religious enthusiasm, but it is informing his music in a different way.

“Washed Us in the Blood” doubles as a religious anthem and a song of social justice. While Kanye is asking for the blood of Jesus to absolve man of sins, it takes on a dual meaning. Right now, America is a country divided and filled with social unrest. Kanye is hoping that the innocent bloodshed from African Americans can heal the country by bringing about reform and change. The song touches on lifestyles all too familiar to Kanye’s hometown of Chicago. These lifestyles are in contrast to the word of God, but Kanye highlights the fact that people are forced into those modes of living by atrocities.

“Whole life bein’ thugs / No choice, sellin’ drugs / Genocide, what is does / Slavery, what it does.”

Maybe Kanye’s return to the sound of Yeezus and tackling of social issues shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, Yeezus is the home of “New Slaves,” a stinging track that confronts black stereotypes and calls out systemic racism in the justice and prison systems.

The video for “Washed Us in Blood” features footage of the recent protests and police brutality. But it isn’t that straightforward; the video also includes seemingly random clips of people dancing, singing, lighting fireworks, and even gameplay footage from the popular video game Grand Theft Auto. It’s a bit disjointed, but somehow moving and fits the style of Kanye’s recent output.

With all of that said, while “Washed Us in Blood” is a promising track that gives hope for God’s Country, it isn’t the kind of response to social justice that we deserve. Most of the last verse is about Kanye and how people are trying to reign him in and change who he is. That’s all well and good, but overall the song fails to deliver a powerful message about police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. While the video is powerful, and Kanye has moments where he points out systemic racism and the cycle it causes, he doesn’t go deep enough to make the song a fitting anthem for BLM.

“Washed Us in Blood” is a solid track that’s a step up from the songs on Jesus Is King. While Kanye’s lyricism on the track may be lacking, it’s nice to see him branch out a little from his religious lyrics and touch on social issues that are relevant today. God’s Country isn’t shaping up to be another Kanye classic, but it certainly seems like it will be more interesting than his last effort.

“Washed Us in Blood” Review Score: 3/5