Kanye West’s new album, Jesus Is King – now it’s finally arrived – is definitely the product of his turn away from secular music and commitment to “only gospel from here on out”. There’s much less of Kanye’s playful profanity, he asked people working on the album to abstain from sex, and there are plenty of hallelujahs.
Since the release, though, the Church of Satan has also weighed in, writing on Twitter: “Satan is the best friend Kanye has ever had, as he will keep him in business all these years!”
The comment is actually a play on the last of the “Nine Satanic Statements” that appear in the 1969 Satanic Bible: “Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!” Obviously, it’s kicked off an appropriately biblical battle in the comments section.
While we’re probably unlikely to hear a response from Kanye himself, we have heard a bit about his indecision when it comes to sharing what he believes is the word of God and what medium to do it through.
His pastor Adam Tyson, for example, has spoken in an interview with the Christian channel Apologia about Kanye calling rap “the devil’s music” and considering quitting it altogether. Luckily for Kanye fans, Tyson swung him back on course by suggesting: “You can rap for God.” (If the Christian rappers that came to my high school are anything to go by, this is debatable.)
In the interview, Tyson also suggests that he vetted some of Jesus Is King, “tweaking some of the lyrics, talking about how to make it more clear about the gospel”.
Tbh, does it really matter whether Kanye is on God’s side or “a true Poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it”? Either way, the album has reportedly filled every space on the Apple Music Top 10 chart and is predicted to easily lead the Billboard 200.
