The placebo effect with Kanye West’s “Jesus is King”

This past weekend, designer, rapper, producer and songwriter Kanye West dropped his latest project Jesus is King. While I have my own reservations about this project, I wanted to focus on a different subject regarding this release: celebrity worship.

Infamously known for his messy album releases, it was no surprise for listeners that Kanye had put new mixes up within a day of his release of Jesus is King. I saw posts floating around Reddit and Twitter of fans praising the new mixes. Previously, Kanye had done the same thing to his release The Life of Pablo, replacing mixes and even adding more post-production work after the album’s release.

There was only one problem with this update of new mixes for Jesus is King: there never were any updates. Someone made up this idea and outlets ran with it, convincing thousands of listeners that they heard things much better that next listen.

I think the mind is very powerful. We can convince ourselves of anything when it comes to how we view our heroes. It still kind of blows my mind that thousands and thousands of Kanye fans convinced themselves they heard his project differently because of something they had read, not from anyone who worked on the project either.

Being honest, I probably would believe it too knowing his history, but I would not use it as an excuse to like it better. Kanye has a lot of influence, and I think it is important that his consumers are honest with him by being honest to themselves. How is Kanye supposed to keep himself in check when his fans don’t even bother to keep themselves in check?

This is not a post meant to slander Kanye, it is meant to make sure people are paying attention to what they feel vs. what they want to feel. I admire Kanye a lot, and I think he is one of the best artists of our generation. I hope that no matter the celebrity or artist, fans start to evaluate how they really feel.

So tell me, has the placebo effect ever gotten the best of you? How did you feel after you learned the truth of it? Let me know!