Entertainment in many forms of media has been littered with religious symbols and references for decades. I want to look at the impact that religion makes on artists and content creators of many forms, and how they then use their platform to amplify the voices and messages of Christianity through their work. Many artists will share their personal beliefs through their art. That could be music, movies or plays, paintings, or some other medium of entertainment that connects artists with their communities. I think it would be interesting to look at the influence Christianity has had on Kanye west. Kanye sings about Jesus and religion in a lot of his albums and songs. Especially in the album Jesus is king, an album that is entirely devoted to church choir type beats. I also want to see how much farther this influences his life and actions. As someone who has openly discussed his struggles with bipolar disorder, I think he may use region to give himself a purpose. His religious music could also be with the intent of helping others find a greater purpose in a similar way that he did. Finally, I think his connection and endorsement of a republican candidate is very interesting, and could be connected to his religious views.
Looking at some of Kanye’s statements he has made in the past it is clear that he identifies as a republican. Kanye says he believes “slavery was a choice” and he has made it very clear he is a Donald trump fan. He took pictures with trump in a MAGA hat and he spontaneously gave Trump his endorsement when performing SNL in 2016. While this has pleased his growing fandom of Christians, he received a lot of backlash from the black community for his actions, being labelled a sellout.
Even among some Christians it has been a rocky path. As someone who used to denounce president Bush’s actions and spoke out about homophobia in his music, this 180 can be very confusing. Although this perfectly fits with his bipolar personality. Kanye is known for saying contradictory things and doing contradictory actions. Another Kanye critique is that his new found devotion to god and Jesus isn’t actually about religion at all, rather the publicity it brings. It appeals to an easy audience and it is hard to lose that audience. It also feeds Kanye’s narcissism; in many songs he compares his own personal struggles to biblical stories. He compares himself to Jesus and Noah, along with other biblical characters and symbols in his work. While many people may find it inspirational that one of their favorite artists has devoted albums to their religion, Kanye has received backlash regarding this too. He is often labeled as a narcist for making these classic Christian stories about himself, and understandably so. It is one thing to use religious symbolism, or even metaphors for religion. But I understand why some people may be offended to have a mortal human compare themselves to classical mythical stories and characters they hold so close to themselves and their upbringing.
Overall Kanye’s message about politics and religion is clear. He is a proud Trump supporter and strong practicing Christian. It’s up to us as fans too interpret his reasoning for including his personal beliefs in his music. It is also up to us as fans to decide how we judge him for this. Is it cool that he shares his personal beliefs and should we put him on a pedestal for this? Or should we call him a sell out trying to appeal to an easy audience? Personally, I think the whole point of music and albums is to tell your story. Whether that’s a fictional story that you believe symbolizes something greater, or a real story about your own life. Music has always been a form of self-expression and if you don’t appreciate an artist’s work you can simply choose not to listen to it. Ultimately if you are a practicing Christian you can decide if you think Kanye’s religious music is cool or disrespectful. Even as a non-Christian I would argue its cool to see religious variety in everything, including music. I have always enjoyed seeing cultural and religious undertones in media and entertainment. I’ve always appreciated what different religious and traditions have to offer and seeing everybody’s personal and valuable beliefs included in movies, tv, books, etc. It is always cool to have somebody act as a face or symbol for your lifestyle or culture that we hold dear, and to show it in in a bigger and more popular form of art.
