Group 2- Final Project Liz Pace, Austin Williams, Jason Taylor, Paige Lee, Madeline Marconi

1. Austin Williams
Liz Pace
Madeline Marconi
Paige Lee
Jason Taylor
Entertainment, Scripture & Culture Rev. Dr. Joel
Emerson

2. B a c k g r o u n
d
Kanye
Omari West
 Born June 8, 1977 in
Atlanta, GA
 Age 37
 Pursuits
 Rapper
 Six studio albums
 Songwriter
 Written over 130 songs
 Producer
 Production credit on hundreds of songs
 Fashion Designer
 Adidas (Air Yeezy)
 Director
 Music videos, film shorts
 Entrepreneur
 Fashion companies

3. Background Continued
 West grew up in a middle class home in Chicago. He started rapping and
dabbling with music in the third grade.
 Kanye attended American Academy of Art in Chicago for 1 semester, then
dropped out in the late 90s to pursue a rap career. West wanted to be a rapper,
but record executives did not take him seriously as they saw more potential in
him for a producer role.
 Kanye defied naysayers, and was signed to rap label Rock-a-Fella records in
2002. He has released six studio albums to date and is currently working on his
seventh, “So Help Me God.”
 West has sold more than 21 million albums to date and 66 million digital
downloads. He has been awarded 21 Grammy Awards and stands at number 10
in terms of most Grammy awards.
 An outspoken and controversial celebrity, West has often been a source of
controversy due to his appearances at award shows and his various television
and radio interviews.
 West has collaborated on multiple occasions with brands Nike, Louis Vuitton,
Adidas and A.P.C. He has expressed frustration with the fashion industry in
general, and has expressed distaste for many brands and their unwillingness to
work with a rapper.
 West also runs his own record label GOOD Music and has directed several short
films.
 West was recently named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.

4. Early Career as Artist
 2004: Debut album The College Dropout
 “Jesus Walks” West describes drifting away from Christ
but also relying so heavily on his faith.
 “I’m just trying to say, the way school needs teachers…
that’s the way I need Jesus”
 “God, show me the way because the devil trying to
bring me down”
 “Spaceship” depicts the power of fame and financial
success as his salvation while 1 Timothy 6:9 says “But
those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a
snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
 Despite preaching the importance of religion to him,
West’s debut album foreshadows his ‘alternative’ take
on Christianity
 2007: Graduation, West begins to see himself as a
higher being.
 “Bow in the presence of greatness / ‘Cause right now
thou hast forsaken us” (“Stronger”) referring to himself
as the “greatness,” a spin on Jesus crying out, “My
God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew
27:46)

5. Early Career Continued
 2006 Rolling Stone: Posed for cover with crown of thorns on his head
 2008 Fader: “I’m like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the
connector”
 2009 January:
 “I don’t believe in religion and giving it all up to Jesus… I just believe in God. I
would never say that it’s in Jesus’ hands.”
 “I believe in Jesus as an icon”
 2011 “No Church in the Wind” with Jay-Z
 “We form a new religion/ No sins as long as there’s permission / And deception is
the only felony”
 “What’s a mob to a king? / What’s a king to a god?”
 “Jesus was a carpenter, Yeezy, laid beats / Hova flow the Holy Ghost, get the hell
up out your seats / Preach” (Hova referring to Jay-Z as ‘God’ of rap under
Jehovah, another name for God)
 2004-2011: Kanye West has gone from being a regular guy struggling with his
faith to a deity of his self-invented religion. Kanye’s ideas about what makes a
god have altered. He claims to be a Christian but he believes we are not all
equal in God’s eyes, himself being more blessed; saying, “my story is so written,
like God has a plan for me” in an interview in 2009. To Kanye, Jesus is not God,
but a favored son of God, knocking Him down a peg and making Him brothers
with Kanye, who is also a favorite of God’s.

6. The Rise and Reign of Yeezus
 Album Released June 18, 2013
 The work Contained Many
Controversial Themes
 Explored Sonic Minimalism
 Controversial Music Videos
 Religious Dialogue Generated
 Yeezus Tour To Support Album
“I just talked to Jesus / He said ‘What up, Yeezus?’” –Kanye West

7. Y e e z u s  Jesus
 "I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes
to the Father except
through me.” –John 14:6
 Yeezus
 “I Am A God”
 Kanye uses the Yeezus narrative to explain
his struggles in the world. In “Black
Skinhead,” West describes his
misunderstood, prophetic role in popular
culture today. He describes events in
which he draws criticism from established
religious groups (Catholics, “Conservative”
Baptists). Throughout the album, West
consistently describes his efforts to stay
true to who he is in the midst of this
questioning and criticism, similar to Jesus.
 Jesus was constantly being questioned by
religious leaders in his time. In Matthew
22:15, the Pharisees question Jesus
intensely, attempting to trap him
regarding current issues. Jesus stays true to
who he is, and remains true to his
relationship with God.
 West refers to himself as one inhabiting a
messianic role (Yeezus) throughout the
album. The narrative of Yeezus shows a
similar character arc with Jesus Christ.
West draws many unique comparisons to
Jesus Christ regarding his work and role in
the world- one being tormented and
misunderstood, similar to much of Jesus’
suffering on earth. The narrative of Yeezus
contains many gaps in logic and shows
poor conceptual understanding of the
Bible. It seems that West hand picks
particular religious themes and uses them
for artistic expansion.
 West, like many other artists,
uses the Bible and its stories
of Jesus as inspiration, citing
these themes as a creative
source, no matter what light
they are portrayed in.

8. Kanye’s Influence in Music
 Kanye has had a heavy
influence in the music
industry, specifically in rap
and hip-hop. His work
includes referencing music
from classic artists including
Stevie Wonder and Prince
stating his equality within that
community. However, his R&B
style has influenced the
newer generation of hip-hop
music. Drake and Childish
Gambino, both newer
musicians, have similar sounds
including vintage record
sounds and vocals that range
from EDM style to slow R&B
background vocals.

9. Kanye’s Influence in
Society
 His influence in society is larger
than most. He fills the media
with news of his personal life
through one of the most popular
reality televisions shows,
Keeping Up with the
Kardashians as well as fills the
inside of professional popular
magazines. Rolling Stones voted
808s and Heartbreak of the most
influential album of all time, and
TIME magazine voted Kanye
into one the most influential
people of our generation.

10. Kanye’s Influence in
Religion
 Kanye has been the center of
topics across America from
award shows interruptions to
religion. He has been on the
cover of Rolling Stone dressed
in the same garb as Jesus from
the crucifixion scenes in the
gospels including the “twisted…
crown of thorns” (John 19:2). His
constant correlation with Jesus
has caused rifts within the
Christian community. Many
believe that his images are
sacrilegious and contradict the
Bible’s teachings.

11. A New World
According To
Yeezus

12. Rolling Stone Cover
 There is a difference in the stories these two pictures tell.
Jesus is wearing the crown of thorns as he is persecuted
by the Romans and heads toward his death on the cross
to save humanity. “And then they twisted together a crown
of thorns and set it upon his head. They put a staff in his
right hand. They knelt in front of him and mocked him.”
(Matthew 27:29) Kanye is wearing a crown of thorns
because he believes his lyrics are words of truth and
prophecy and honestly because this comparison will
create a lot of publicity and controversy. One is self-less
making himself God into human while Mr. West is being
selfish and making himself from a man to a “god”
 Rolling Stone
Magazine featured
Kanye on the cover with
the words “The Passion
of Kanye.” The front
image shows the artist
wearing a crown of
thorns and covered in
blood. This is a parody of
the image of Jesus Christ
on his way to the
crucifixion.
 Kanye West’s influence
in pop culture has
created a stream of
dialogue regarding
religion, and more
importantly, how the
stories of Jesus are to be
interpreted and applied in
our world today.

13. Yeezianity: The Church of Yeezus
 5 pillars of church
 1) All things created must be for the good of all
 2) No human being’s right to express themselves must ever be repressed
 3) Money is unnecessary except as a means of exchange
 4) Man possesses the power to create everything he wants and needs
 5) All human suffering exists to stimulate the creative powers of man
 Golden Rule – Create for others what you would have created for yourself
 They also include their own Dogma and Declaration of Faith
 -The ‘religion’ started from a tweet but started to gain a real following and
developed into an official website.
 -The creator of the ‘faith’ remains anonymous, but has been interviewed in depth
by the Huffington post on what ‘Yeezianity’ stands for.
 -The creator stated himself that it is just a rehashing of Christianity and they the
main goal of the religion is to create controversy. Doesn’t sound like much of a
religion to me.
 -The creator says “Kanye is not seen as a god but as an inspiration on how to live
your life.” However he then contradicts himself by saying “everyone is a god,
Kanye is a god” whenever they are creating something incredible. This belief
system is not grounded in anything substantial if it’s creator can’t even stick to
one set of rules.
 -He believes you don’t have to be of the “Church of Yeezianity” OR a “Catholic”
but you can be both. That would prove false as to one of the Ten
Commandments which are held in high esteem for both Judaism and Christianity
clearly states “Thou shall have no other Gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7)
 Like the summary before stated,
Kanye West has inspired a new
“religion” called Yeezianity. The
following information is their
beliefs from the official website.
 ABOUT: We are a forward-minded
group who believes that the one
who calls himself Yeezus is the
highest living human being and
he will help to usher in a New Age
of humanity. We believe that a
New Age is beginning where all
people will unlock their creative
powers and the competitive
struggle for money and power will
no longer be necessary.
 OUR SAVIOR: His real name is
never to be spoken. He is known
to us only as Yeezus. He has
shown the modern world the
creative potential of a human
being and he serves as a living
model for behavior and ethic.

14. The Future
 Overall conclusion: ‘Yeezianity” is in no way a religion as much as it
is a parody of Christianity. This pseudo-religion is used to create
publicity and controversy to gain more popularity and fans of
Kanye West and his music.
 Musicians like Kanye West, no matter how powerful, will always
struggle to inspire fans to actually create a religion as serious as
Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism, or Judaism.
 Bob Marley, The Beatles, and Tupac have all gained cult followings
filled with fans that ‘worship’ the artists like they were gods, but
none have succeeded in creating an official organized religion.
 Musicians can be prophets and there may come a time in the
future when a new religion is created from fans; however, they
would have to step away from the glam and glitz of the
experience and become only a conduit of their message. If a
famous rapper became the figurehead of an organized religion,
it’s doubtful that Kanye West would be the first.

15. Conclusion
 Kanye West has used his position as a
popular music artist to create an intriguing
narrative surrounding many biblical themes.
West claims to be a Christian, and frequently
compares himself to Jesus, mainly in the
three main categories of suffering,
misunderstanding, and greatness.
 In his most spiritually inclined album,
Yeezus, Kanye West uses the story of Jesus
to mirror his own character. In live
performances on the Yeezus Tour, West
uses an actor dressed as Jesus to hand him
a crown during the performance,
symbolizing Jesus’ understanding and
“unity” with Yeezus.
 Kanye’s Yeezus album has inspired a new
religion, and generated significant dialogue
within popular and sacred culture alike.

16. THE END
The Group!

17. Embrace Yeezus and fill your life with joy.