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Hands On (song)

"Hands On" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019). The song features a guest appearance from gospel singer Fred Hammond. It was produced by West, Angel Lopez, Federico Vindver, and Timbaland, all of whom served as co-writers with Hammond and Aaron Butts. West initially freestyled and envisioned the song, recording an 18-second basic track. He sent Hammond a vocal track, to which the singer wrote his verse. A minimalist gospel ballad with elements of R&B, the song features a low-key beat.

"Hands On"

October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)

2019

3:23

  • Kanye West
  • Angel Lopez
  • Federico Vindver
  • Timbaland

Lyrically, the song is focused on West's conversion to Christianity and the judgement of him from other Christians. "Hands On" received mixed reviews from music critics, who mostly criticized West's performance. They often singled out his lyrical style, though certain reviewers praised the production and Hammond's appearance. The song reached number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking Hammond's first entry on the chart. It peaked at numbers 49 and 63 on the ARIA Singles Chart and Canadian Hot 100, respectively.

Release and reception[edit]

On October 25, 2019, "Hands On" was included as the ninth track on West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King.[17] Kim Kardashian, West's wife at the time, first shared a track list for the album in August 2019, including the song as the seventh track.[20] The following month, Kardashian posted a track list showing it set for release as the ninth and penultimate track.[21] On September 29, 2019, West previewed "Hands On" during a listening event at the United Palace theater in the New York City neighbourhood Washington Heights for his mini-tour Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience.[18][22] It was played as the penultimate track and Hammond's feature was revealed.[18][23]


"Hands On" was met with mixed reviews from music critics, with general criticism of West's vocals. Wren Graves was highly negative at Consequence; he cited the song as "the worst of the many meandering rants" on the album, singling out the heavy lack of rhythm or flow and writing off West's rhymes as so simplistic that they "would get a person hissed out of a poetry slam".[24] Carl Lamarre from Billboard named it as the record's worst track, commenting that even though West "plays the sidelines and allows production savant, Timbaland, to run point", the two "land a dud on their mistimed collaboration".[12] Lamarre also admitted that them collaborating "seems fantastic" on paper and noted the repetitiveness of West's lyrics, attributing this to him "rapping about rebuking the Devil for the umpteenth time".[12] Writing for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung saw that the rapper shows "his grasp of Christ's teachings is elementary" as he addresses those questioning his "true intentions".[17] HipHopDX's Aaron McKell wrote off West's weak lyricism on the song due to his focus on the religious message, declaring that he is "forgetting to be a clever MC" and rapping plainly.[25] Daniel Bromfield of Spectrum Culture pointed to the song as an example of him sounding "cowed and vulnerable".[26] Entertainment Weekly critic Brian Josephs expressed less negative feelings, not being surprised by the song being about West like much of Jesus Is King, saying the rapper disguises his "insecurities as heathen" and demonstrates "some supposed righteousness" in his struggle as usual.[14] However, he wrote that West "delivers a testimonial over warm chords and coos", yet he does not have the necessary self-reflection "to give his words emotional depth".[14]


Ben Devlin was more mixed in musicOMH; he noted that the song's "lush and minimal" production is "completely beatless", but viewed West's rambling of sorts as resembling fellow rapper will.i.am "at his most awkward".[6] For Variety, Andrew Barker praised the song's "moody, low-key beat" and Hammond's feature, yet felt West ruins it with his "persecution complex" by "fall[ing] into a sour funk whining" about other Christians judging him.[13] Aidy James Stevens from God Is in the TV called the song "a stripped-back affair" and said the main purpose is "a vehicle for Ye's frustrations" with Christians judging him after beginning his religious conversion, naming it "a vital part of the narrative" in the context of a concept album.[7] He explained that the song is not a particularly essential number, concluding how it could have possibly "been elaborated upon".[7] Time's Andrew R. Chow named the song as the strongest of Jesus Is King, commenting that West "waves at th[e] idea" of gospel songs being "driven by transformation, in which sinners hit rock bottom before receiving a glimmer of hope".[9] R. Chow also stated that the song benefits from Hammond's usage of auto-tune, though observed how West "raps about not being accepted by other Christians" rather than further integrating "his own struggle with police brutality and America's three-strikes law".[9] In a glowing review for NOW Magazine, Matthew Progress wrote the song contains "some of the most captivating melodies ever found on a West project" and noted it as part of the album's "vein of R&B-leaning, wavy church ballads" that begins with the vocals on "Everything We Need".[11]

Commercial performance[edit]

Following Jesus Is King's release, "Hands On" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 60, becoming Hammond's first appearance on the chart.[27][28] Simultaneously, the song reached number 9 on the US Christian Songs chart. It debuted at number 10 on the US Gospel Songs chart, rounding out the chart's top 10 that was fully occupied by entries from the album.[29] The song also charted at number 29 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[30]


Elsewhere in North America, the song reached number 63 on the Canadian Hot 100 in Canada.[31] "Hands On" experience its strongest performance in Australia, entering the ARIA Singles Chart at number 46.[32] The song charted similarly in Lithuania to Canada, peaking at number 64 on the Lithuania Top 100.[33] It peaked at numbers 77 and 87 on the Portuguese Singles Chart and Singles Digitál Top 100 in Portugal and Slovakia, respectively.[34][35]