How Kanye West’s 'Jesus is King' Grammy Win Redefines Contemporary Christian Music
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NEW YORK— Kanye West’s 2019 album “Jesus is King” won Best Contemporary Christian Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards.
He beat other nominees Cody Carnes, Hillsong Young & Free, We The Kingdom and Tauren Wells — all of whom are more in line with the working definition of contemporary Christian artists.
The Grammys helped define this category of Christian artist when they completed a large restructuring of their categories in 2012. Christian music is awarded in two categories: Gospel and Contemporary Christian Music. The official announcement said the two categories are alike in their religiosity but different in style, and “the word ‘Gospel’ tends to conjure up the images and sounds of traditional soul gospel.”
“Jesus is King” straddles the line between both. The Sunday Service Choir, Kanye’s own Gospel backup, add a great deal of traditional sound — not to mention the Gospel tracks he samples. But West is by no means a traditional Gospel artist, nor is he really trying to be. As is common with awards shows, there’s no full reason given for genre-defying albums like “Jesus is King,” and the voting process is one that’s just now getting more public attention. Often, the music is nominated in the categories it’s considered most likely to win.
Either way, the “Jesus is King” win is an upset in the category. Past winners — like TobyMac, For King & Country, Lauren Daigle, Mandisa and others — are for the most part familiar names in Christian churches and households. West, a figure known for his narcissism, publicity stunts and obscene lyrics, is the opposite of that.
But his longtime fans won’t be surprised. The “Jesus is King” win is West’s 22nd Grammy. His first three were awarded in 2004 with breakout album “The College Dropout.” The album contains “Jesus Walks,” which won Best Rap Song, and a clip from popular hymn “I’ll Fly Away.”
The biblical influences have always been there, albeit in strange ways. See 2013 song “I Am A God,” in which West says “I am a God / Even though I'm a man of God.”
If there was ever an official resurgence of West’s faith in his music, it would be in his 2016 album “The Life of Pablo.” In “Ultralight Beam,” he says, “I'm tryna keep my faith / But I'm looking for more / Somewhere I can feel safe / And end my holy war.” But there’s plenty of “the old Kanye” in this album, too — songs of sex and passion abound.
“Jesus is King” marked his first explicitly and publicly Christian album.
At the time of its release, the album received positive reviews for its Gospel influences and nods back to his past work, even if it is tacked with the chaotic and sometimes silly notes that have always accompanied West’s music.
The song “Closed on Sunday,” which ultimately becomes a song about being a Christian father and raising his family right, begins with “Closed on Sunday, you're my Chick-fil-A.”
But songs like “Water” take on a more serious tone, populated with repeated pleas to Jesus:
Jesus, flow through us
Jesus, heal the bruises
Jesus, clean the music
Jesus, please use us
Jesus, please help
Jesus, please heal
Jesus, please forgive
Jesus, please reveal
This album was in part the culmination of famous Sunday Service pop-up worship events West hosted weekly with his own choir beginning the first week of 2019. On Easter Sunday of that year, he performed a special set at Coachella. West and the Sunday Service Choir released another worship album, “Jesus is Born,” on Christmas Day 2019. These services slowed to a stop when COVID-19 hit, except for a virtual 2020 Easter service and an in-person August service at his family’s Wyoming ranch.
Read more: 10 Highlights From Kanye West's Long-Awaited Joe Rogan Interview
It was also the culmination of a spiritual transformation for West, who began speaking more publicly about his faith and family with Kim Kardashian-West.
Some of his platform was devoted to his bid for presidency in 2020, which went mostly unexplained from start to finish.
West remains successful at the things he’s known for; his Yeezy shoe brand is set to enter a deal with a $970 million valuation with Gap this year. But his family and his new, more spiritual rap career — which have been his platform since the release of “Jesus is King” — may not be going according to plan.
Kardashian-West filed for divorce in February of this year.
And West’s most recent single from October 2020, “Nah Nah Nah,” was critically panned. It’s also mostly without references to Christianity — save for in the remix, which features popular rapper DaBaby with verses like “She don't got on drawers but she know all the scriptures” that merge sex and spirituality.
It’s possible that the era of “Jesus is King” is over for Kanye West, but that doesn’t downplay the importance of its Grammy win this year. It reflects the blurring of religious and secular lines where popular musicians are creating, and it shows a desire from listeners for something that goes beyond traditional worship (or traditional rap).
Who knows? Maybe next year, the award will go to Justin Bieber.
Jillian Cheney is a Poynter-Koch fellow for Religion Unplugged who loves consuming good culture and writing about it. She also reports on American Protestantism and evangelical Christianity. You can find her on Twitter @_jilliancheney.