South Korea has its own Kanye West.
Entertainer BewhY rose to national prominence in 2016, after he won the competition show “Show Me the Money,” where he rapped about Jesus and the Bible — two topics that seemed foreign in a genre centered on sex and money.
During a recently published interview with allkpop, BewhY said he finds most of his lyrical inspiration“when I’m at church, worshipping, praising, or reading the Bible.” And after watching West, a well-known entertainer in the U.S., publicly convert to Christianity, he’s eager to meet the 42-year-old rapper.
“I feel like there would be a lot of areas where I would be able to relate to Kanye West,” said BewhY, admitting he wasn’t really interested in meeting the entertainment mogul prior to his religious awakening. “Before, I felt like his music was a little different from the direction I was heading towards. I felt like he had faith, but some of his aspects made me confused.”
“It wasn’t until his ‘Yeezus’ album that I really started listening to Kanye’s music more seriously,” he continued. “Most recently, he released ‘Jesus Is King,’ which made me admire and wonder how his mind and spirit had transformed. I would love to have an in-depth conversation with him about that.”
Much like West, BewhY had a watershed moment of his own a few years ago. In 2017, he told Billboard he saw himself idolizing wealth and success, even distracting from his passion for music. Ultimately, he credited God and his girlfriend for his renewed faith.
West said last year that his singular job moving forward is to tell people about the Gospel, to use his music “to let people know what Jesus has done for me.” BewhY has a similar intention with his work.
“As someone who has faith, I want to show that what I believe is admirable, and shed a positive light on my culture,” he explained to allkpop. “To be honest, faith and Christianity are heavier topics. I want to use a lighter medium to share these more serious topics with others.”
Following after West, that’s exactly what BewhY is doing.
BewhY’s latest single, “Gottasadae,” is a song focused on the decay of a society whose people build up kingdoms for themselves. He references 1 Corinthians 4:20, in which the apostle Paul wrote, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.”