Over the weekend, just hours before the Super Bowl and only 30 minutes down the road from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, rapper Kanye West held a Sunday Service.
During the event, which he held in concert with the Miami-based VOUS Church, West claimed record contracts have prevented artists from using the name “Jesus” in their tracks.
“The Devil took all the producers, the musicians, the designers,” West said. “He moved us all out to Hollywood, moved us all out to New York. Chasing gold statues. Literally signing a contract and selling our souls. They got contracts out there that say, ‘you can’t say Jesus.’”
The “Jesus Is King” rapper went on to explain he has opened up his studio to give artists the freedom to express their religious beliefs in the music they create.
“People were coming to the studio just to say ‘Jesus’ as loud as they wanted to,” he said. “You can say Jesus in ’Ye studio.”
He told those gathered for the Sunday Service over the weekend that God is “using us to show off, to show God is better than the devil.”
West also paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant and the NBA star’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, both of whom died last Sunday morning, during a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The other victims include 56-year-old John Altobelli, 46-year-old Keri Altobelli and 13-year-old Alyssa Altobelli, 38-year-old Christina Mauser, 50-year-old Ara Zobayan, and 45-year-old Sarah Chester and 13-year-old Payton Chester.
Before launching into his song “New Day,” West revealed that he asked Bryant for his thoughts on the song. In response, the 42-year-old entertainer said, Bryant simply said, “Theme music.”
Immediately following Bryant’s death, West organized a last-minute service to honor the 41-year-old athlete.
West also posted a tweet about the former Los Angeles Laker: