Black Gospel Matters — Because Gospel Is Intrinsically Black
Gospel is one of the only predominantly Black art forms left on the American cultural landscape. Here’s why.
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When Kanye West debuted his “Sunday Service” sessions at the beginning of 2019, performing gospel-influenced reworkings of his songs and backed by a Black gospel choir, it was met — like most Kanye West undertakings — with both praise and skepticism by fans and critics. It didn’t, however, come as much of a surprise. West had already flirted with gospel music in “Jesus Walks” from his 2004 debut album and again in 2016 on The Life of Pablo’s “Ultralight Beam,” which featured gospel superstar Kirk Franklin and a 10-piece choir.
But West’s embrace of gospel, most recently with his gospel-rap album Jesus Is King, is nothing new or revolutionary in hip-hop or R&B. The Game, Pharrell, Mary J. Blige, Charlie Wilson, Chance the Rapper, even Snoop Dogg — who released the surprisingly decent gospel double album Bible of Love in 2018 — have participated in gospel music. Two decades before West put a gospel choir behind his music, Sean “Diddy” Combs brought out a choir at the 1997 VMAs to perform the…
