Kanye West reveals record labels have contracts prohibiting artists from talking about Jesus
Kanye West and the Sunday Service Choir teamed up with VOUS Church to perform at Bayfront Park in Miami ahead of the Super Bowl where in between songs he told the audience that many mainstream record contracts forbid artists from saying Jesus' name.
Several hip-hop celebrities attended West's Sunday Service, including Fat Joe, N.O.R.E. and Quavo.
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"God using us to show off, to show God is better than the devil," West told the crowd, referring to the successes of his latest albums, Jesus Is King and Jesus Is Born.
"The devil took all the producers, the musicians, the designers. He moved us all out to Hollywood, moved us all out to New York. Chasing gold statues. Literally signing a contract and selling our souls,” the Chicago native continued.
West then revealed that many of the artists he worked with while creating Jesus Is King were relieved to freely say the name of Jesus because of the way their agreements are set up in the industry.
“They got contracts out there that say, 'you can't say Jesus.' When we were working on this album, people were coming to the studio just to say 'Jesus' as loud as they wanted to. You can say Jesus in 'Ye studio," he declared.
Christian rapper, Bizzle took to Instagram Monday to share lyrics from his song “Lit Lit” which reveals that he also experienced what West talked about during the Sunday Service.
“I told’em I am not for sale and won’t promote evil / they told me I can give you murder, but no JESUS / the devil's in this game are handpicking yo leaders / that’s why you get 100 dope boys and no preachers,” Bizzle captioned a photo of West’s comments.
In the past, West publicly projected a God complex through his blasphemous alter ego Yeezus, admitting he, too, was “working” for the devil. But in 2019, everything changed for the fashion innovator, and he began his Sunday Service events featuring a gospel choir that reimagined mainstream songs with Christian lyrics. The “Jesus Walks” rapper declared he became a born-again Christian during this process and has since devoted his life to “working for God” and traveling the world as a music minister.
In October, West’s pastor, Adam Tyson said he encouraged West to keep making music although the father of four wanted to quit rap altogether.
"One time, he told me that he wasn't going to rap," Tyson said in a previous Apologia Studios podcast interview. "I said, 'Why not?' He said, 'That's the devil's music.' I said, 'Hey, man. Rap is a genre. You can rap for God.' I think he was already thinking about it a little bit, but I definitely said, 'Hey, bro, I think you need to use your talents that God's given you and use that platform for God.'"
West took his pastor’s advice and along with traveling every week with his choir, he is reportedly working on Jesus Is King 2 with Dr. Dre.
