Kanye West's "Sunday Service" has been a musical phenomenon for almost a year now, and as of this Christmas, fans of Kanye and the performance project have finally received an album of familiar jams. The Sunday Service Choir released their debut album Jesus is Born on Christmas day and the result is an undignified gospel album of just under and hour and a half. It's full of gorgeous and uplifting gospel tracks that have been performed over the course of 2019 at various "Sunday Service" events, some of which are covers of Kanye's original tracks. Though the whole release is incredibly rich and inspiring, perhaps the most compelling moment comes at track seven with "Follow Me – Faith." The two part track begins with an inviting dance groove and ends with a strong religious iteration of Kanye's "Fade" from The Life of Pablo. Incredibly dynamic and powerful, "Follow Me- Fade" encourages dancing, rejoicing, and celebration.
"Follow Me – Faith" comes between "Father Stretch" and "Ultralight Beam," two other covers from Kanye West's The Life of Pablo. While Pablo was called a "gospel album" by Ye, the Sunday Service Choir iterations of the tracks do much more justice to the gospel genre. What's most impressive about "Faith" specifically is how seamlessly the lyrical and musical transition to gospel was made from the original track "Fade," an electronic hip-hop track. The repeated hook "Your love is favor. We feel it, faith," rings true in this context and sounds beautiful with the many voices proclaiming it. However, the most compelling moment comes at the bridge where the dark piano keys and booming horns bounce behind the line "He's alive, He-He-He's alive." It ends the track with an energy that is overwhelming and uncompromising, giving appropriate praise to the powers that the choir speaks of.
"Follow Me – Faith" is a compelling track on a dense yet undeniably emphatic gospel album from the Sunday Service Choir. It beautifully incorporates Kanye's back catalogue into his new born-again context while keeping perfectly in stride with the rest of the project. Moreover, although not a direct product of Kanye's creativity, Jesus is Born marks yet another cultural and creative landmark for the music legend, a must-listen for believers and non-believers alike.
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