Jesus Is King

Marvin Sapp Says Ye “Ain’t A Gospel Artist,” Calls His Inclusion “Unfair”

by

He’s hailed as one of the greatest Gospel artists of our time, and Marvin Sapp is sharing his thoughts on Kanye West. Despite the anti-Semitism backlash West has received, he continues to tout his Christian faith. For years, Ye has been making waves in Gospel circles, especially following the success of Jesus is King. The album won several Gospel awards and Christian artists praised his addition to the genre. However, Sapp offered a different take in a recent interview.

“I’m just looking at it differently,” he told VladTV. “I can absolutely sympathize with up-and-coming artists when you look at Billboard and Kanye’s whole record is in, like, one through 40 of our genre.”

Read More: Kanye West Is Billboard’s Top Gospel Artist Of 2020: Report

“Do I think that it’s fair…now that I think about it, it’s not,” he continued. “I don’t think that it’s fair at all. And I think what ends up happening is it ends up eclipsing those of us who really do this for the genre and as a lifestyle.” He jokingly patted himself on the back for that observation and added, “Yeah, that was good, Marvin.”

“But, you know, it happens,” Sapp added. “All of these streaming platforms—if an R&B, Hip Hop artist comes along and they do something that’s Gospel oriented, they’ll bring it over into our genre, and we embrace them. But that’s not something that happens across genres.”

Read More: Kirk Franklin Discusses Kanye West And His Place On The Mount Rushmore Of Gospel

The singer-songwriter pastor used Lil Nas X as an example. Sapp brought up the Country Music Awards’ minimizing the “Old Town Road” icon because it was argued that his hit single didn’t belong in the genre. “If we did it, it would look like we not Christian.”

He noted that opposition or criticism of West from Christian circles doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with someone’s “religious position.”

“I think it does have something to do with making sure that the playing field is fair. Kanye ain’t a Gospel artist.”

Do you agree with Marvin Sapp about Ye’s inclusion in Gospel music culture?

Eminem Claims His Faith In God On DJ Khaled And Kanye West’s ‘Use This Gospel’ Remix On ‘God Did’

by

It is not every day that one hears Eminem rap on a gospel song, but, as one can imagine DJ Khaled would say, “Khaled did!” On the producer’s 13th studio album God Did, he includes a remix to Kanye West’s 2019 record “Use This Gospel” from Jesus Is King.

The track is remixed, carrying an air of early 2000s Eminem nostalgia with harder-hitting drums and slight rock influence, which makes sense as Dr. Dre produced it. Slim Shady raps about not knowing if he can hold on and putting his faith in “the Father.” It’s his usual speed raps and flow switches, but definitely, a surprising effort as he makes several religious references.

The original “Use This Gospel” featured Kenny G and Clipse, made up of Pusha T and No Malice. In September 2020, Ye tweeted his gratitude to Eminem for rapping on the record. “@Eminem THANK YOU FOR RAPPING ON THE DR DRE REMIX OF USE THIS GOSPEL I HAVW ALWAYS LOVED AND RESPECTED YOU AND IM HONORED TO HAVE YOU BLESS THIS SONG … ITS ALSO NORTH WEST’S FAVORITE KANYE WEST SONG OF ALL TIME.”

God Did released on Friday (August 26) and boasts a star-studded tracklist made up of Jay-Z, Drake, Future, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Sza, Latto, and many more. Notably, the title track features a four-minute Hov verse plus the usual impressive performances from Lil Wayne and Rick Ross.

Check out the “Use This Gospel” remix above.

God Did is out now via Epic. Listen to it here.