Kanye West’s Powerful Sunday Service at The Forum in Los Angeles
By Carter Fife
Last Sunday Kanye West provided Los Angeles with its very own Sunday Service event, the first since the release of his ninth solo studio album Jesus Is King. Hosted by The Forum, the faded gloss of the vermillion floors was obstructed by a multitude of different flora and in its center: a large grassy circular platform surrounded by lush and colorful flowers, all directly underneath a rounded screen. Astounding scenery aside, it was as if the diverse crowd of hypebeasts and older LA natives had accidentally come upon a secret oasis in the middle of Inglewood.
This event was the first time West had performed many of the tracks off Jesus Is King live, and after following the rocky release schedule over the past year, there seemed to be an air of relief in the venue. Since West announced the release date for his latest project (then called YANDHI) in September 2018, the album went through multiple delays and transformations, many of which were attributed to West not feeling satisfied with the sound or progress of the record. As the year ended, many fans speculated that YANDHI had been scrapped, but feelings of hope began to rise when in January 2019 West began to privately host “Sunday Service” events, where he and a choir would dress in similar white garb and perform soulful gospel tracks for a select audience of the industry’s elite. Many of these tracks were softer and more religious interpolations of West’s previous work, which made these private events a joy for fans to track. After bringing his Sunday Service to Coachella, and a summer full of YANDHI leaks trickling out of the G.O.O.D music camp, West would later announce a tentative release date and tracklist for his new album Jesus Is King in the fall of 2019.
Despite having Sunday Service / listening session hybrid events in Detroit, Salt Lake City, New York, Chicago, and even Kingston Jamaica, the album failed to arrive when West promised, and fans’ hopes were dashed again. At these events West also premiered portions of Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Film, an IMAX film created at the Roden Crater featuring performances from the Sunday Service choir, which received mixed reviews from attendees. A month later, ticket sales for the IMAX film appeared seemingly out of nowhere, West tweeted a new tracklist and release date for the record along with its new cover art, and as quickly as the promotion started, it ended Friday morning when Jesus is King released on streaming services.
Sunday’s event was in part a spiritual successor to the events that preceded it: Sunday Service at the forum was part sermon, part Sunday Service choir performance, and part Kanye West show. Merchandise was available for purchase, including a garment that was designed in collaboration with AWGE, and a multitude of expensive garments that made some cry sacrilege. What set this event apart, however, was the sheer cinematic power that West’s performance had on its attendees. This was not a private gathering of Hollywood’s elite witnessing a shotty mess of hardware and plastic chairs, this was a public multimedia event that was West’s first show of the JIK era, complete with elaborate costuming, sound and stage design, guest artists and a setlist that had a little bit for everyone.
To put it lightly: the event did not disappoint.
Surrounded by around 50 performers including vocalists, percussionists, keyboard and brass players, West performed powerful renditions of his newest material, including beginning the event with an incredible performance of ‘Closed On Sunday’. Since Jesus is King’s release, this track has been under a large amount of scrutiny from critics and fans alike for the seemingly vapid hooks about Chick Fil-A and lemonade. While lyrically the humor in the song may be at odds with its other layers, there is no denying that this song has some powerful melodies that are accentuated heavily by the presence of a choir. The harmonic conversations created by West’s impassioned singing juxtaposed against the choir’s haunting aural register made my jaw drop, as before then I had given little attention to this song.
This was not the only moment that West’s coordination of choir, instruments, and song choice captivated the crowd, as over the course of the two hour performance fans were treated to rare performances of church classics like “How Excellent”, improvised beat sampling by Kanye West, and even a religious themed rendition of Damian Marley’s legendary reggae anthem “Welcome to Jamrock”. This Sunday Service also featured the first live performance of “Saint Pablo”, guest appearances from Francis and the Lights (performing “Take Me To The Light”), and perhaps most notably, an unforgettable reunion of Clipse on “Use This Gospel” which also featured two solos from the legendary Kenny G on his soprano saxophone.
Clipse and Kenny G join Kanye on stage for an awe-inspiring performance of “Use This Gospel”
Sunday Service at the Forum was visually striking as well, with each member of the choir being draped in bone-colored garments that featured the occasional splash of faded pastel coloring. Women danced in unison with long and beautifully decorated braids underneath a circular screen that projected different colored lights, and even a cloudy sky at various moments in the show. It was refreshing to see a stage that was in many ways an inverse of Kanye West’s stage design on 2016’s Saint Pablo tour. Before, West stood alone on the panopticon stage, hovering above his fans performing to them. On Sunday, West was under his fans performing for them, and aside from his performances of the tracks, there were many moments in the production where West was far from the focal point. Jason White, the service’s choir director, took the spotlight for the majority of the show while West would simply blend in with the performers.
Whether or not one believes Kanye West to be a ‘true christian’, or a real supporter of the conservative party, or whether or not one boxes West to a caricature of a misguided celebrity plagued by mental illness and a growing distance between himself and reality, there is no denying that this event was powerful. Though the merchandise was expensive (LA Apparel / Yeezy Blanks cost far more to produce than Gildan Tees), entry to the event was only 15$ a person, as it was clearly designed to be a spectacle for the public to not only consume, but to be a part of as well. Audience participation was encouraged and never before have I been to a show where there had been such a tangible sense of elation both social and spiritual. Between seeing Kanye’s daughter playfully sing while on Kanye’s shoulders, and witnessing the reunion of one of hip-hop’s most powerful duos, Sunday Service at The Forum was an event I will not soon forget.
Listen to Kanye West’s new album Jesus Is King here:
