Austin Williams

Liz Pace

Madeline Marconi

Paige Lee

Jason Taylor

Entertainment, Scripture & Culture Rev. Dr. Joel Emerson

B a c k g r o un d

Kanye Omari West

Born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, GA

Age 37

Pursuits Rapper

Six studio albums

Songwriter Written over 130 songs

Producer Production credit on hundreds of songs

Fashion Designer Adidas (Air Yeezy)

Director Music videos, film shorts

Entrepreneur Fashion companies

Background Continued West grew up in a middle class home in Chicago. He started rapping and

dabbling with music in the third grade.

Kanye attended American Academy of Art in Chicago for 1 semester, then dropped out in the late 90s to pursue a rap career. West wanted to be a rapper, but record executives did not take him seriously as they saw more potential in him for a producer role.

Kanye defied naysayers, and was signed to rap label Rock-a-Fella records in 2002. He has released six studio albums to date and is currently working on his seventh, “So Help Me God.”

West has sold more than 21 million albums to date and 66 million digital downloads. He has been awarded 21 Grammy Awards and stands at number 10 in terms of most Grammy awards.

An outspoken and controversial celebrity, West has often been a source of controversy due to his appearances at award shows and his various television and radio interviews.

West has collaborated on multiple occasions with brands Nike, Louis Vuitton, Adidas and A.P.C. He has expressed frustration with the fashion industry in general, and has expressed distaste for many brands and their unwillingness to work with a rapper.

West also runs his own record label GOOD Music and has directed several short films.

West was recently named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.

Early Career as Artist 2004: Debut album The College Dropout

“Jesus Walks” West describes drifting away from Christ but also relying so heavily on his faith.

“I’m just trying to say, the way school needs teachers… that’s the way I need Jesus”

“God, show me the way because the devil trying to bring me down”

“Spaceship” depicts the power of fame and financial success as his salvation while 1 Timothy 6:9 says “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”

Despite preaching the importance of religion to him, West’s debut album foreshadows his ‘alternative’ take on Christianity

2007: Graduation, West begins to see himself as a higher being. “Bow in the presence of greatness / ‘Cause right now

thou hast forsaken us” (“Stronger”) referring to himself as the “greatness,” a spin on Jesus crying out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

Early Career Continued

2006 Rolling Stone: Posed for cover with crown of thorns on his head

2008 Fader: “I’m like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector”

2009 January: “I don’t believe in religion and giving it all up to Jesus… I just believe in God. I

would never say that it’s in Jesus’ hands.”

“I believe in Jesus as an icon”

2011 “No Church in the Wind” with Jay-Z “We form a new religion/ No sins as long as there’s permission / And deception

is the only felony”

“What’s a mob to a king? / What’s a king to a god?”

“Jesus was a carpenter, Yeezy, laid beats / Hova flow the Holy Ghost, get the hell up out your seats / Preach” (Hova referring to Jay-Z as ‘God’ of rap under Jehovah, another name for God)

2004-2011: Kanye West has gone from being a regular guy struggling with his faith to a deity of his self-invented religion. Kanye’s ideas about what makes a god have altered. He claims to be a Christian but he believes we are not all equal in God’s eyes, himself being more blessed; saying, “my story is so written, like God has a plan for me” in an interview in 2009. To Kanye, Jesus is not God, but a favored son of God, knocking Him down a peg and making Him brothers with Kanye, who is also a favorite of God’s.

The Rise and Reign of YeezusAlbum Released June 18, 2013

The work Contained Many Controversial Themes

Explored Sonic Minimalism

Controversial Music Videos

Religious Dialogue Generated

Yeezus Tour To Support Album

“I just talked to Jesus / He said ‘What up, Yeezus?’” –Kanye West

Y e e z u s Jesus

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6

Yeezus “I Am A God”

Kanye uses the Yeezus narrative to explain his struggles in the world. In “Black Skinhead,” West describes his misunderstood, prophetic role in popular culture today. He describes events in which he draws criticism from established religious groups (Catholics, “Conservative” Baptists). Throughout the album, West consistently describes his efforts to stay true to who he is in the midst of this questioning and criticism, similar to Jesus.

Jesus was constantly being questioned by religious leaders in his time. In Matthew 22:15, the Pharisees question Jesus intensely, attempting to trap him regarding current issues. Jesus stays true to who he is, and remains true to his relationship with God.

West refers to himself as one inhabiting a messianic role (Yeezus) throughout the album. The narrative of Yeezus shows a similar character arc with Jesus Christ. West draws many unique comparisons to Jesus Christ regarding his work and role in the world- one being tormented and misunderstood, similar to much of Jesus’ suffering on earth. The narrative of Yeezus contains many gaps in logic and shows poor conceptual understanding of the Bible. It seems that West hand picks particular religious themes and uses them for artistic expansion.

West, like many other artists, uses the Bible and its stories of Jesus as inspiration, citing these themes as a creative source, no matter what light they are portrayed in.

Kanye’s Influence in Music

Kanye has had a heavy influence in the music industry, specifically in rap and hip-hop. His work includes referencing music from classic artists including Stevie Wonder and Prince stating his equality within that community. However, his R&B style has influenced the newer generation of hip-hop music. Drake and Childish Gambino, both newer musicians, have similar sounds including vintage record sounds and vocals that range from EDM style to slow R&B background vocals.

Kanye’s Influence in Society

His influence in society is larger than most. He fills the media with news of his personal life through one of the most popular reality televisions shows, Keeping Up with the Kardashians as well as fills the inside of professional popular magazines. Rolling Stones voted 808s and Heartbreak of the most influential album of all time, and TIME magazine voted Kanye into one the most influential people of our generation.

Kanye’s Influence in Religion

Kanye has been the center of topics across America from award shows interruptions to religion. He has been on the cover of Rolling Stone dressed in the same garb as Jesus from the crucifixion scenes in the gospels including the “twisted… crown of thorns” (John 19:2). His constant correlation with Jesus has caused rifts within the Christian community. Many believe that his images are sacrilegious and contradict the Bible’s teachings.

A New World According To Yeezus

Rolling Stone Cover

There is a difference in the stories these two pictures tell. Jesus is wearing the crown of thorns as he is persecuted by the Romans and heads toward his death on the cross to save humanity. “And then they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it upon his head. They put a staff in his right hand. They knelt in front of him and mocked him.” (Matthew 27:29)  Kanye is wearing a crown of thorns because he believes his lyrics are words of truth and prophecy and honestly because this comparison will create a lot of publicity and controversy. One is self-less making himself God into human while Mr. West is being selfish and making himself from a man to a “god”

Rolling Stone Magazine  featured Kanye on the cover with the words “The Passion of Kanye.” The front image shows the  artist wearing a crown of thorns and covered in blood. This is a parody of the image of Jesus Christ on his way to the crucifixion.

Kanye West’s influence in pop culture has created a stream of dialogue regarding religion, and more importantly, how the stories of Jesus are to be interpreted and applied in our world today.

Yeezianity: The Church of Yeezus

5 pillars of church

1)    All things created must be for the good of all

2)    No human being’s right to express themselves must ever be repressed

3)    Money is unnecessary except as a means of exchange

4)    Man possesses the power to create everything he wants and needs

5)    All human suffering exists to stimulate the creative powers of man

Golden Rule – Create for others what you would have created for yourself

They also include their own Dogma and Declaration of Faith

-The ‘religion’ started from a tweet but started to gain a real following and developed into an official website.

-The creator of the ‘faith’ remains anonymous, but has been interviewed in depth by the Huffington post on what ‘Yeezianity’ stands for.

-The creator stated himself that it is just a rehashing of Christianity and they the main goal of the religion is to create controversy. Doesn’t sound like much of a religion to me.

-The creator says “Kanye is not seen as a god but as an inspiration on how to live your life.” However he then contradicts himself by saying “everyone is a god, Kanye is a god” whenever they are creating something incredible. This belief system is not grounded in anything substantial if it’s creator can’t even stick to one set of rules.

-He believes you don’t have to be of the “Church of Yeezianity” OR a “Catholic” but you can be both. That would prove false as to one of the Ten Commandments which are held in high esteem for both Judaism and Christianity clearly states “Thou shall have no other Gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7)

Like the summary before stated, Kanye West has inspired a new “religion” called Yeezianity. The following information is their beliefs from the official website.

ABOUT: We are a forward-minded group who believes that the one who calls himself Yeezus is the highest living human being and he will help to usher in a New Age of humanity. We believe that a New Age is beginning where all people will unlock their creative powers and the competitive struggle for money and power will no longer be necessary.

OUR SAVIOR: His real name is never to be spoken. He is known to us only as Yeezus. He has shown the modern world the creative potential of a human being and he serves as a living model for behavior and ethic.

The Future Overall conclusion: ‘Yeezianity” is in no way a religion as much as

it is a parody of Christianity. This pseudo-religion is used to create publicity and controversy to gain more popularity and fans of Kanye West and his music.

Musicians like Kanye West, no matter how powerful, will always struggle to inspire fans to actually create a religion as serious as Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism, or Judaism.

Bob Marley, The Beatles, and Tupac have all gained cult followings filled with fans that ‘worship’ the artists like they were gods, but none have succeeded in creating an official organized religion.

Musicians can be prophets and there may come a time in the future when a new religion is created from fans; however, they would have to step away from the glam and glitz of the experience and become only a conduit of their message. If a famous rapper became the figurehead of an organized religion, it’s doubtful that Kanye West would be the first.

Conclusion Kanye West has used his position as a

popular music artist to create an intriguing narrative surrounding many biblical themes. West claims to be a Christian, and frequently compares himself to Jesus, mainly in the three main categories of suffering, misunderstanding, and greatness.

In his most spiritually inclined album, Yeezus, Kanye West uses the story of Jesus to mirror his own character. In live performances on the Yeezus Tour, West uses an actor dressed as Jesus to hand him a crown during the performance, symbolizing Jesus’ understanding and “unity” with Yeezus.

Kanye’s Yeezus album has inspired a new religion, and generated significant dialogue within popular and sacred culture alike.

THE END

The Group!

Embrace Yeezus and fill your life with joy.