Kanye West Debuts New Song 'Water' at Coachella Sunday Service
Yeezus rises again.
Kanye West brought his Sunday Service to Weekend 2 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Easter morning (April 21). Thousands lined up starting at 6 a.m. for the spiritual-themed performance, which took place on a “mountain” in the camping area of the festival grounds in Indio, Calif. and was streamed live on YouTube.
A purple-haired West led the gospel choir and band, dressed in oversized purple sweatpants and sweatshirts, through the 90-minute set, which kicked off around 45 minutes after its 9 a.m. start time. The livestream was broadcast through a fisheye peephole and showed an aerial shot of the hilltop stage, which resembled an eye.
#SundayService crowd at #Coachella pic.twitter.com/eoGHCbgMJ7
— Rap-Up (@RapUp) April 21, 2019
Surrounded by collaborators including Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, and Chance the Rapper, West opened with a mix of “Ultralight Beam” / “Ultralight Prayer” intertwined with the gospel song “How Excellent” before delivering gospel-inspired renditions of hits including “Power,” “Otis,” and “Fade,” mixed with classics like Stevie Wonder’s “As,” Soul II Soul’s “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me),” and Kirk Franklin’s “Brighter Day.”
Teyana Taylor belted out her K.T.S.E. track “Never Would Have Made It” and Chance the Rapper delivered his verse on “Ultralight Beam.” DMX preached to the crowd with a powerful spoken word, which brought West to tears.
TEYANA #SundayService #Coachella pic.twitter.com/H7mNjU5h5H
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
Happy Easter! Here’s Chance performing at Kanye’s Sunday Service pic.twitter.com/BOvqJVZLXa
— xǝl∀ pɹɐllıᗡ (@Juan_Pablo47) April 21, 2019
DMX preaching at #SundayService
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
Kanye, who joined Kid Cudi on stage in the Sahara tent the prior night, smiled but didn’t say much until the end, when he rapped on “All Falls Down” and the closer “Jesus Walks.”
ALL FALLS DOWN#COACHELLA pic.twitter.com/iHCI9JZLPr
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
Powerful.
Ye, Cudi, DMX, and Chance#SundayService pic.twitter.com/MIhn4m0zmh
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
Sunday Service also saw the debut of a new song called “Water,” which includes the refrain “We are water.” The spiritual song also includes the lyrics, “Let your light reflect on me / Take the chlorine out of conversation.” It’s unclear if the song will appear on Kanye’s upcoming album Yandhi.
Kanye previews new song called “Water” 🙌🏼🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/QfsCtJ0bc9
— jay (@jescutler) April 21, 2019
Kanye’s family and friends were in attendance for the Easter Sunday performance, including Kim Kardashian and their daughter North West, along with Khloé Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, 2 Chainz, and La La Anthony.
Merch aka “church clothes” were available for purchase, including $225 “Holy Spirit” sweatshirts, $75 ponchos, $50 “Jesus Walks” socks, and $70 “Trust God” T-shirts that said “Sunday Service at the Mountain” on the back. The items are also available online at shop.kanyewest.com.
SUNDAY SERVICE MERCH https://t.co/ZUko9NhxhV pic.twitter.com/AwsR2E2G5l
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) April 21, 2019