On Friday, to the delight of his fans and followers, Kanye West finally released his much-anticipated gospel album ‘Jesus Is King,’ after weeks of back and forth with the release date.
“To my fans. Thank you for being loyal & patient. We are specifically fixing mixes on ‘Everything We Need’ ‘Follow God’ & ‘Water.’ We not going to sleep until this album is out,” he wrote on Twitter early Friday morning.
To the delight of his fans, the album was released mid-day on Friday, containing 11 songs, that can be listened to in under a half-hour.
You can preview the songs here or listen to them in full on Spotify or YouTube.
The album contains Bible verses, references from Bible stories, and a continuous theme of praising God’s faithfulness.
In the song “Selah,” West sings the lyrics: “They say the week start on Monday / But the strong start on Sunday / Won’t be in bondage to any man / John 8:33 / We the descendants of Abraham / Ye should be made free / John 8:36 / To whom the Son set free is free indeed / He saved a wretch like me.”
In the song “God Is,” West sings: “Worship Christ with the best of your portions / I know I won’t forget all He’s done / He’s the strength in this race that I run / Every time I look up, I see God’s faithfulness / And it shows just how much He is miraculous / I can’t keep it to myself, I can’t sit here and be still / Everybody, I will tell ’til the whole world is healed.”
The song “Jesus Is Lord,” is a mere thirty seconds but contains the powerful lyrics: “Every knee shall bow / Every tongue confess / Jesus is Lord / Jesus is Lord / Every knee shall bow / Every tongue confess / Jesus is Lord / Jesus is Lord.”
The other nine songs on the album are worth giving a listen to, carrying biblical themes throughout, and encouraging listeners to turn to God in all things.
The album, which is trending on Twitter, has received kudos from many major artists.
Quavo, one of the three members of Migos a rap group, tweeted that the album is “fire.”
Lecrae, a Christian rapper tweeted: “Regardless of how you feel about #KanyeWest the content is refreshing to hear. God will get His glory. And #JesusIsKing.”
Marco McKinnis, an artist, tweeted, “God is really working through Ye. If you don’t recognize that, it’s time to catch up.”
How did we get here?
From producing albums with all explicit tracks to a gospel album filled with Bible verses, the journey West has brought fans on over the past year shows just how powerful the gospel of Jesus Christ truly is.
Over the past year, Kanye West has become increasingly more vocal about his newfound relationship with Christ and his desire to learn more about God.
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, the host of Beats 1 Zane Lowe, Kanye shared in more detail how he has come to a place where he no longer wants to follow Kanye, but solely dedicate his life to following Jesus.
“Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me,” Kanye explained to Lowe.
Later in the interview, Kanye pointed out that everything he does, fashion, music, tech, etc., is all “for the church.”
“Everything I do, even designing a shoe, is for the Church… It’s my only mission and calling, is to spread the gospel.”
You can watch the full interview below.