Kanye West Previews 'Jesus Is King' at Detroit Listening
Kanye West brings Jesus to Detroit.
The rapper presented his long-awaited ninth studio album during his “Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience” at the Fox Theatre last night. Around 1000 fans, who scored free tickets earlier in the day, were on hand as West played 10 tracks including “Closed on Sunday,” which contains the catchy chorus “Just like Chick-fil-A,” while “Use This Gospel” features appearances from Clipse and saxophonist Kenny G. Other tracks include “LA Monster,” “Follow God,” and “On God,” described as “full-bodied and uptempo.”
“Not scripture-based like the Sunday Service, the album is a decidedly hip-hop exposition, using mostly spare keyboard and percussion arrangements with plenty of space for West’s vocals,” writes Billboard.
Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience pic.twitter.com/9CBn8iCwOA
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) September 28, 2019
Kanye West has arrived at “Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience” in Detroit 🙏 pic.twitter.com/nRS4eEkbRS
— Rap-Up (@RapUp) September 28, 2019
Following the listening, Kim Kardashian revealed that the album will now arrive on Sunday, Sept. 29. Mrs. West took to Instagram Stories to announce the new date. “He’s dropping the album Sunday,” she wrote. “Just a few final tweaks to the mixes.”
She also announced that Kanye will host a listening session in Chicago on Saturday and another in New York on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Kim tweeted out the revised tracklisting. Instead of 12 tracks, the final version includes 10 songs with religious-themed titles such as “Follow God,” “On God,” “Sunday,” “Use This Gospel,” and “Selah.” There are also new additions including “LA Monster” and the previously-teased “New Body” featuring Nicki Minaj.
According to those in attendance, Kanye revealed that Nicki is re-recording her verse for the latter and should have it finished in time for Sunday’s release.
Have faith… pic.twitter.com/2HF4HiPQoq
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) September 27, 2019
During Friday’s Experience, West also previewed his IMAX documentary Jesus Is King. According to Billboard, it centers around his Sunday Service series, including several song performances. He also previewed another film, which he called a “work in progress,” focused on his architectural projects. According to Kim, the film is coming to IMAX in October.
To go along with the album, Kanye also unveiled his Jesus Is King merch collection including $140 crewnecks, $50 T-shirts, and $60 long sleeve tees featuring illustrated portraits of Jesus and the words “Jesus Is King,” “Sunday Service,” and “Detroit.”
“Jesus Is King” merch just droppedhttps://t.co/ZTwC8DhEh1 pic.twitter.com/26EteCdbUx
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) September 28, 2019