The Best Part of Kanye's New Album

I have no idea what is going on in Kanye's head and heart.  You probably already knew that, but if you follow the mercurial antics of Kanye West, you know there's a lot of discussion on that topic right now.

Do you think it's legit?

Is it for real?  

After years of self-proclaimation and launching who knows how many companies and tweeting who knows how many tweets, Kanye West has apparently given up that whole empire of "self" and has come home to the Church and to Jesus.  His latest album is a mishmash of Sunday morning church music, drum circles, and lines that only Kanye can rap (Closed on Sunday / You're my Chick-fil-a / You're my #1 / You're my lemonade).  But, it's all aimed at one mission, stark as the royal blue of the album logo and as bold as the title:  Jesus Is King.

Who knows where it will go from here?  But, here's what I know, and here's what I think Kanye has found.

It's in that picture up at the top here.  Forgive the quality.  It's a bit grainy.  But, I want you to see that picture.  Because something beautiful is happening in this picture, something wonderful.  Something magical.  

Kanye West is part of something so much bigger than him it's hard to even see him in the midst of it all.  And maybe that's what it's all about.

The picture itself comes from a service/performance this past Sunday at The Forum in downtown Los Angeles.  It's hard to describe, which is why it's probably better if you just watch a bit of it.

You don't even see Kanye when it first starts.  There's just this ensemble of singers and the director in the center of the congregation, calling forth praise.  Then Kanye comes onto the stage.  He comes out with what I presume are his daughters, singing those crazy lyrics about Chick-fil-a.  This part is okay.  

But, it ain't the best part.  It ain't when the horns come in either, although those are darn good.

Nope.  It's after that first number when the choir master comes back to the fore, and calls out "LA are you ready to sing with us?"  "One big church.  One big choir," he shouts out, and then with one little "sing" this heavenly choir bursts forth into life, clapping and swaying and dancing and praising.  

Sing 'til the power of the Lord comes down.

Sing 'til the power of the Lord comes down.

Sing 'til the power of the Lord comes down.

This is infectious joy.  This is a beautiful gathering.

I think this is what has overtaken Kanye, and I have no doubt as to why.

Here in this moment he doesn't have to be Yeezy or Pablo or the LeBron of Rhyme.

He doesn't have to be superstar.

He gets to be held by something bigger than himself.

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Kanye West is in so many ways the epitome of everything we're being told we need to be and do and have in order to be happy in our world today.  He did it.  He got there.

More money than he can probably ever spend?  Check.

Cultural validation through Twitter followers?  Check.

Proof that he could outwork and outproduce anyone?  Check.

It's not that he's so different from us.  It's just that he takes it to the extreme.  And while it's easy to point out and ridicule his self-aggrandizement, how many of us (myself included) spend so much of our energy in the quest for self-fulfillment?

If we're honest, there's a little bit of the old Kanye in all of us, working hard to get that wealth, to secure our future, to be fit and happy all the while, and to make it all look so effortless, even if we do come off as a bit stressed and neurotic to our friends and family.

And right we should.

Because it is dang exhausting, you all, having to keep up the show of "self" so much.

You can hear that in Kanye if you listen to this new album.  You can hear it in this interview with music critic Zane Lowe.  At some point, Kanye just opens up about how dang tiring it all has been.  Making the records.  "Managing the managers."  Making the dollars.  Pumping life into the hype machine.

And when you've gone down that road long enough, when you've followed it to its natural conclusion, you realize what Solomon realized way back long before Yeezus.  You realize all the money and success and fame in the world can't buy you the one thing you actually want at the end of the day:  people around you ... singing ... clapping ... supporting ... picking you up when you suck and laughing at your bad jokes and telling you they love you no matter what.

I think what Kanye has found is, in other words, community.  And a people.  

And I don't know that there's anything better.

I can tell you its better than trying to do it all by yourself. 

And I think Kanye may be on to something.

I think we've finally reached the limits of this age of self-fulfillment.  I think we're finally realizing that such a gospel is empty.  It's bankrupt.  

It's so much better to be with your people, in your tribe, in your choir, a member of a body.

It's better to sing along.

It's better to learn and dance to the music.