When Kanye West finally released his long-awaited and frequently delayed album, Jesus is King, what we got was not the gospel masterpiece that we were told it would be. Kanye’s Sunday Service and teasers to his new film all pointed towards an album that blow us all away. A more rational fan might have seen this coming from Kanye’s sudden shift in direction, but I was hopeful. 

After my first listen of Jesus is King, “Selah” stood out as my immediate favorite.  It’s a song that I expected would serve as the mold for the rest of the album; a bit of rapping from Kanye and some prominent gospel choir vocals.

The song starts slowly with some Christian-centric bars from Kanye. “Everybody wanted Yandhi / but Jesus Christ did the laundry.” This is a reference to his cancelled project and Kanye’s new devotion to his lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Where this track really shines is the gospel vocals repeating “hallelujah” throughout the chorus. These heavenly sounds build until the instrumental is cut out completely and the acapella singing rings in your ears. I still get chills listening to the chorus of this song. The chorus ends with a “He is wonderful” from the choir, referring again to Christ.

Kanye comes in again, this time timing the delivery of his bars with the booming of these three drums. This once again gives the  song an extremely powerful feeling and really conveys the passion that Kanye has for his newfound religion, while still sounding like something you would expect to hear at one of his now famous Sunday Services. 

This song is  what I expected, and wanted, from Kanye on Jesus is King and it’s unfortunate that it was the only one of its kind. “Selah” is wonderful, though, and if you’re into Kanye or gospel music,  give it a listen.

Feature image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images; retrieved from LA Times.\