(CP) Rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, said in a recent interview that he has “issues with Jesus” and would relatively take things into his “own hands” as an alternative of giving Jesus full control.
West and fellow rapper Ty Dolla $ign, a collaborating artist on his recent album Vultures 1, appeared for an interview with radio personality Big Boy posted to his Big Boy TV YouTube channel on Sunday.
“I even have my issues with Jesus,” West began in the course of the interview, which lasted for over an hour. “There’s a number of stuff I went through, and I prayed, and I ain’t see Jesus show up.
“I needed to put my experience on this world, my experience with my children, my experience with other people, my experience with my account, my experience with my brand and my experience with the extent of music that I used to be coping with, in my very own hands.”
West criticized American Christians in society today as not being proactive enough when given opportunities to assist others.
“I just feel like in our society and America, people, Christians will rely upon Jesus a lot that we do not put the word in ourself. And the most important thing that I do not rock with is like, ‘I’m going to hope for you.’ It’s identical to, you possibly can actually physically do something yourself, too, greater than just praying.”
“And we’re so on this mentality that that is all that should occur. But we aren’t praying our way out of prison. We aren’t praying our way out of the abortion clinics. We aren’t praying our option to get our land back that was all the time ours after gentrification after the Harlem Renaissance and Black Wall Street was burned to the bottom. Them prayers will not be working.”
The rapper argued that physical motion taken by humans is essential to creating things occur.
“We are going to need to apply actual physical constructing partnerships, and it don’t start unless we could really be real with one another,” the 46-year-old said.
“You know the way many threats we have been handled. And I have not prayed my way through them threats either. I needed to stand up and do it myself. I had a lot to do, I have not have time to hope.”
Later within the interview, West claimed that he’s God of himself.
‘Cause I’m God,” he said, when asked about his success within the music industry and the way he hasn’t “disappeared.” “And anyone who desires to disagree, I’m the God of me. You cannot tell me who I’m. I am unable to tell y’all. I could tell y’all. It’s your job to listen. I’m the God of me. I do not know if I’m in heaven already.”
In previous years, West garnered attention and headlines for his seemingly open acceptance of Christianity and his public conversion to the Christian faith. He released his Jesus is King album in 2019. He also spent over $50 million performing “Sunday Service” events across the country, which he once said was an effort to spread the Gospel.
His comments within the interview drew reactions from Christians online.
“Kanye is mixed up about Jesus. The role of Jesus is not to be our cleanup crew or a genie that grants us wishes,” social commentator and film producer Robby Starbuck wrote on X. “We all need to be chargeable for our decisions and the results they’ve. It also comes off really bad to put blame on Jesus for not having as much $$$ as you think that it is best to whenever you’re incredibly wealthy still. @kanyewest has been given more blessings than your average person.”
“Ye should understand that historically the individuals who take risks to rise up for God often risk a lifetime of horrors or death not because God refuses to intervene but because they decide to sacrifice for the great of others or to live a life that they could be happy with on their deathbed,” he added. “If God intervened against evil each time it reared its head, then that may mean humans don’t really have free will.”
West received backlash last month after he called himself “the brand new Jesus” in his Vultures 1 album, released on Feb. 10. The album features a song called “Carnival,” which is stuffed with obscene language and sexual violence. The recent album was a collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign.
“They served us the porn because the day we was born / Anybody pissed off, gotta make ’em drink the urine,” the 46-year-old rapper recited during his song.
“Now I’m Ye-Kelly, b—, now I’m Bill Cosby, b— / Now, I’m Puff Daddy wealthy, that is Me Too me wealthy.”
After more verses stuffed with crude sexual references and a reference to pop star Taylor Swift, West states: “I’m the brand new Jesus, b—, I turn water to Cris.'”
The rapper mentions R&B singer R. Kelly and actor Bill Cosby, who’ve each suffered degrading reputations after sexual assault allegations were brought up against them.
West calling himself the “recent Jesus” prompted scrutiny from Christian commentators on social media and responses from others in search of to defend the rapper.
“Kanye fans getting mad at Christians for calling him out only comes from emotions,” Christian rapper Bryson Gray tweeted. “We are holding him to standards that he has publicly set for himself. You don’t care how inconsistent he’s … cool That doesn’t change the facts though.”
