Imagine stumbling into a church you’ve never seen on Sunday morning. As you approach you hear rapper DMX praying, “I have special privileges. I am God’s favored child.” In front of you sit Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, who were both raised Christian but now consider themselves “spiritual.”
The prayer ends, and a gospel choir in matching Yeezy merchandise belts out rapper Kid Cudi’s “Reborn.” Presiding over it all is Pastor Kanye West.
It isn’t a dream. Kanye reportedly started his own church on the first Sunday of the year, and since then, he’s attracted celebrities to his entertaining, religion-laced gatherings. According to reports about the secretive meetings, there is no pastor. Just Kanye as figurehead, with inspirational music, prayers, and celebrity attendees such as Tyler, the Creator and, of course, the Kardashians.
Kanye’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, has helped the private church go viral by posting videos of daughter North West adorably dancing to songs like her father’s “Lift Yourself.” In the background, a choir some 50-strong belts hip-hop hits. A few dozen attendees before them bop along to the music.
In one of Kim’s videos, Kanye wears a T-shirt with St. Mary on its back. It’s the only piece of religious iconography you’ll see there.
The Sunday service, which has bounced around the West Coast but most recently landed in the hills of Southern California, is also invitation-only.
“It’s a very inspirational service where people come together to share music and prayer. There’s a great energy and vibe being out in nature,” one attendee told E! News.
Kim and Kanye have recently identified as Christians, but the rapper’s relationship to the divine is a little complicated.
In his first album, Kanye sings about his faith in multiple songs, saying “I need Jesus” and “went to church and get my hands scrubbed/ Swear I’ve been baptized each three or four times.”
Then, on his self-congratulatory album “Yeezus,” he sings, “I Am A God.” After the song came out in 2013, fans wanted to know if he really meant it. “I made that song because I am a god,” he told W Magazine. “I don’t think there’s much more explanation.”
But in 2016’s “Ultralight Beam,” he sings a prayer. A singer featured on the song intones, “You persecute the weak/ Because it makes you feel so strong,” then pivots, “I know that you’ll take good care of your child.”
In Kanye’s mission to build up hype for his brand, the service’s star-studded guest list can’t hurt. It rivals the attendees of Hillsong Church, the nondenominational behemoth known for attracting celebs such as Justin Bieber and other members of the Kardashian clan.
Yet to many of its devotees, it likely isn’t about hype at all. Music, certainly Kanye’s, has long been a conduit for spirituality. And last year, Pew found that 37 percent of those who didn’t attend religious services said they practiced their faith in other ways and 23 percent said they just haven’t found a house of worship they like yet. The church of Kanye is a symptom of this phenomenon, and no doubt many are hoping it’s the cure.
