Kanye West's 'Waves' Is a Gospel Album?
While much of the entertainment world focused on a social media tiff taking place between rap mogul Kanye West and fellow rapper Wiz Khalifa, West dropped another bombshell last week.
"This album is actually a Gospel album," West tweeted on Jan 27.
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Before the announcement, the rap mogul exchanged vulgar words with Khalifa on Twitter about the 28-year-old rapper's son and child's mother, Amber Rose, who also happens to be West's ex-girlfriend. The Twitter feud started after West misinterpreted Khalifa's marijuana reference "KK," as him speaking about Kim Kardashian.
After deleting the graphic Twitter exchange, West said God told him not to speak about people's children anymore.
"God's dream… Never speak on kids again… all love … all blessings…," he tweeted.
The 38-year-old West announced that his upcoming eighth studio album would change its name from "Swish" to "Waves" ahead of its previously announced Feb. 11 release.
West has not offered further explanations about why he is calling his album a gospel record, but he was pictured in a studio with famed gospel music producer, songwriter and recording artist Kirk Franklin on Jan 28. Rapper 2 Chainz posted a photographs on his Instagram account with himself, West, producer Mike Dean, stylist ASAP Bari and Franklin in a studio.
Although Franklin has not spoken specifically about working with West recently, he appeared on Shade 45's radio show "Sway In The Morning" in 2013 where he was questioned about the rapper's seventh album title "Yeezus" possibly being blasphemous. Franklin admitted that West was a friend of his, and even acknowledged that he wished he had come across the rapper's 2004 hit single "Jesus Walks" first.
"He's a good friend of me. I'm mad at Jesus for not giving me that joint," Franklin told radio host Sway Calloway jokingly. "I was like Jesus your boy has been walking with you. I love that record still."
The gospel musician refused to use the radio show as an outlet to bash West and explained that speaking on a microphone was a powerful responsibility. Franklin said he would rather speak to West personally about the matter instead of addressing the issue of his album title on the public radio show.
"I think the microphone is a very powerful tool and you can use it to build people up or you can use it to kill people," Franklin said on the radio show. "And so if my job on earth is to always be a light in somebody's life, than I would want to use the tool to always communicate in a way that I'm going to uplift someone then I might not always do it through this tool which is the microphone. That may be heart to heart ... that may be a phone call or when I see somebody in person."
