Last night (October 23), at the Los Angeles Forum, Kanye West aired his new album and movie Jesus Is King on the eve of its latest (and most convincing) release date: October 25.
In a room mocked up as the African Savanna, attendees navigated meandering alleys to stand between raised areas with plants, a reporter from the event tells Pitchfork. The film, which played on a giant IMAX screen hanging along one side of the Forum, featured various Biblical references, an all-black choir, and snippets of Kanye West songs, some reworked in a gospel style. There was music from the cantata Carmina Burana, with the lyrics adapted to: “Jesus is king/Jesus is lord.” West sings what may be a new song as a lullaby to a newborn baby.
Chants of “Kanye! Kanye!” broke out as the film faded to black. When he emerged, he was swarmed by fans on the floor as a chorus of “Yeezy” rose all around. In his own blue merch hat, West stood on a raised savanna area as he played 10 Jesus Is King tracks, seemingly controlling sound from a hand held device.
During the first song, mostly choir and piano, a halo of light appeared around West. Lyrics include, “Sing till the Lord comes/Till the power of the Lord comes down.” Track two features the lyrics, “God is king, we the soldiers,” and, “We the descendants of Abraham.” West told the crowd that he’s wanted the next song “to come out since Yeezus.” Over a soul sample, a guest raps a verse, before Kanye West raps: “Arguing with my dad, he said it ain’t Christlike… Try to talk to my dad/He started spazzing/I started spazzing back.” The song ends with a prolonged scream.
Track four—the widely reported “Closed on Sunday/Just like Chick-fil-A”—features the lyrics, “No more living for the culture, we’re nobody’s slave.” The crowd chanted along to the chorus. The next track began with electronic arpeggiation, Daft Punk-style, and the crowd went wild, with one fan ripping out a fake plant and whirling it to the beat. The sixth song, however, was a return to reverential soul: “Praise the Lord, I know I won’t forget Jesus,” West says. “You won’t ever be the same when you call out Jesus’ name.” The next song was similarly praiseful.
“New Body” features a guest resembling Ty Dolla $ign, but did not appear to contain the previously rumored Nicki Minaj verse. “I’m so radical, all these people mad at you,” West raps. He tried to calm the crowd, urging them to “back up, so we can listen to” the ninth track, which commands, “Satan get behind me/Jesus take the wheel.” He used the pause before the last track to lament the fact Christians judge him, before launching a finale built over a repetitive piano stab, seemingly featuring Clipse’s PUSHA-T and No Malice, with an apparent Kenny G sax solo at the end. Lyrics include: “Use the gospel for protection/It’s a hard road to get to heaven/We call on your blessings.”
Fans on the way out generally praised the show, despite some prior trepidation about his religious themes.
Earlier this week, Kanye West promised that his Jesus Is King album would be released on Friday, October 25. (Two due dates came and went in late September.) The accompanying IMAX documentary is due out the same day.
Revisit Pitchfork’s feature “What We Saw at Kanye’s Ye Listening Party in Wyoming” and the report from the New York Jesus Is King event.