When you’re rich, famous and have conquered everything in Hollywood, where else is there to go? Build schools, start a church or run for a political office?
It was only a matter of time but here goes – Kanye Omari West has started his own “church”. Earlier in January, The Christian Post reported that the musician has been conducting what he’s calling “Sunday Services,” at his Calabasas home.
Kim Kardashian, Kanye’s wife, was the first to give us unworthy commoners a glimpse into her hubby’s new venture via Instagram.
From all the snippets we’ve seen over the past three months, music is the heart of Sunday Service, but don’t expect to hear traditional hymns. It appears Kanye’s chosen his own catalogue for the playlist with a few other artists thrown in for good measure.
The services seem like religiously themed weekly concerts where he appears to be performing gospel versions of old songs. The 41 years old musician orchestrates the live band while a full choir of at least 30 singers harmonise his classic songs.
These songs either already have a gospel vibe to them, or are reworked to fit the theme. Songs on the Sunday Service set list include, Jesus Walks, Beautiful Morning, Heard ‘Em Say, Lift Yourself, Father Stretch My Hands, and I Wonder. Suddenly, Kanye’s music is making more sense than ever.
These services may possibly be a part of his strategy to promote his upcoming album, Yandhi, some have postulated.
There’s clearly something drawing all corners of Hollywood to these mysterious services, with the likes of Paris Jackson, 070 Shake, Rick Rubin, Kid Cudi and Diplo among attendees.
There’s also an element of family with Kylie, Kris Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian regular attendees, and then there’s little North, Kanye and Kim’s eldest daughter, who takes centre stage, dancing each week. She seems to love it either way.
The one major takeaway from the videos is that, after two years of personal turmoil and ‘breakthroughs’, Kanye actually seems to have found some peace of mind through the church. More often than not, he’s seen smiling while dancing completely carefree, or holding North in his arms and swaying to the music. Endearing moments!
But then, you’re reminded there might be a corporate aspect to the ‘church’ with most of the choir wearing the latest Yeezy trainers or collections from Kanye’s clothing line, instead of traditional robes.
So is this all just a way to feed Kanye’s ego? Or self-promote his business ventures? Or, is the church the first stepping stone to building his new ‘community’ in Calabasas?
With that, we must ask: Is Kanye West starting a church, or is this some sort of concept album long game that’s leading up to a release in the name of God and record sales?
For now, Kanye’s Sunday Services seem to be more a platform for remixes for the religious ear and less a place for him to proselytise. It’s not clear that beyond the gospel remixes, Kanye is praising God or Jesus, but if it walks like a church, quacks like a church, and co-owning churches is already a part of the family business, it very well may be a church, right?
Matthew 18:20 reads,
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Which basically means that if you and your friends even bring God up in your small gathering or find a way to praise His name with one another, you’ve essentially stumbled your way into a church service. It only takes two to tango, and praise His name.
Thus Kanye may not even technically need any sort of permit to operate this sort of event out of his home. According to a Useful Community Development guide,
“just because someone is having a home Bible study or other spiritual discussions, complete with singing, the law may not consider that a church.”
Noteworthy, the idea of Kanye starting a church is not so far-fetched, considering his mother-in-law Kristen Jenner (Kim K’s mother) is the co-owner of the California Community Church. She took the church under her wing in 2010, and it is still up and running.
The legitimacy of the church has, however, been questioned in the past. Some blogs have alleges that California Community is “nothing more than a Kardashian tax haven,” and have alluded to financial sketchiness and raised eyebrows at its $1,000-a-month membership fee.
About Last Sunday & DMX’s Prayer
If you’re familiar with the catalogue of Mr Earl Simmons, notoriously known as Dark Man X(DMX), then you’re more than likely acquainted with the signature prayers that the rapper incorporates in all of his full bodies of work.
On Sunday, he stopped by Kanye West’s Sunday Service to deliver one of his prayers live before the congregation gathered at Mr West’s weekly spiritual gathering in the Hills.
In the prayer that has shaken many, the hip-hop artist touches on a few things here — accepting Jesus, blessings, opening doors that were once closed, being highly favoured by God, shooting down the devil, etc. It clearly resonated with the crowd, because they were cheering him on as he kept going.
This time around, a crowd, usually clad in all-white, came out in all-black— it seemed that everyone did, indeed, get the memo.
Per usual, the seemingly sanctified meetup was broadcast for all to see with Kim Kardashian uploading the clip that features DMX delivering on a stirring prayer not foreign to traditional church settings. It’s the latest public appearance to positively reflect on DMX since his January release from prison.
He sounds like a seasoned preacher.
X is definitely the right guy to deliver a sermon like this too. Aside from being openly religious, he’s been through a lot of difficulties in his life, especially lately with his tax evasion case.
Watch the video below:
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