Follow God
"Follow God" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019). The song was produced by West, BoogzDaBeast and Xcelence. The producers wrote it alongside Aaron Butts, though the song's sampling of work by Whole Truth led to songwriting credits being listed for Calvin and Curtis Eubanks. It was playlisted to UK mainstream radio by the BBC as the album's lead single on November 8, 2019, through GOOD Music and Def Jam. Around the time of release, the song was the top performing track from Jesus Is King on streaming services. A religious hip hop track, it includes a sample of "Can You Lose by Following God" by Whole Truth, which is chopped up in certain sections. On February 6, 2021, a Dr. Dre Remix was leaked from the scrapped Jesus Is King II album.
"Follow God"
November 8, 2019
1:45
- Kanye West
- Aaron Butts
- Bryant Bell
- Calvin Eubanks
- Curtis Eubanks
- Jahmal Gwin
- Kanye West
- BoogzDaBeast
- Xcelence
The lyrics of "Follow God" are about Kanye West's connection with his father, which is in reference to both God and his biological father Ray West, while the meaning of being "Christlike" is questioned by him. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics; many named it the best track on Jesus Is King. Critics appreciated the bouncing beat and Whole Truth sample, and complimented West's rapping flow and pace. The song was awarded Top Gospel Song and Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards and 51st GMA Dove Awards in 2020, respectively.
Commercially, "Follow God" debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming West's 18th track to reach the top 10 on the chart. The song also reached the top 10 in nine other countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It was later certified double platinum and silver in the United States and the United Kingdom by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively. The song also received a gold certification in Denmark by IFPI Danmark, while it was awarded this certification in Portugal by Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP). An accompanying music video was screened on November 6, 2019, and released the following day. It shows Kanye and Ray West drive ATVs in snow in Cody, Wyoming. The video concludes with a message from Kanye about his relationship with Ray West. Kanye West performed the song with the Sunday Service Choir as part of his Sunday Service concerts in 2019.
Music and lyrics[edit]
"Follow God" is a hip hop track[15] which features a chopped up sample of Whole Truth's soul[13][16][17][18] recording "Can You Lose by Following God".[12][14] It was compared to West's earlier releases which used samples,[19] and his 2016 song "Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1".[12][20][21] "Follow God" is built around the sample's vocal line, "Father, I stretch/Stretch my hands to You," which begins from the 1:32 mark of the sample.[14][22] It opens with the sample used as a declaration.[12]
The lyrics are about Kanye's connection with his father, although he references God under this connection as well as Ray West.[12] However, the lyrics are not entirely religious, with the song including Kanye West demonstrating faith in himself.[23] It also speaks of disconnecting from negativity related to social media.[12] West begins his verse with lines about struggling to achieve pureness in a world of sin, while in other lyrics he compares himself to Jesus Christ and Michael Jordan.[12][24] In "Follow God", West considers what it means to be "Christlike" after an argument with his father.[14][25] The song concludes with West climaxing the argument by recalling the two of them getting angry at each other, accompanied by a scream from him.[12][20]
The phrase "what your life like" is repeatedly used as a question by West and was compared to fellow rapper Shotgun Suge's "What's your life like?" phrase. Suge said the phrase was his slogan and that West should acknowledge battle rap culture. A writer from The Source argued that West used the phrase as "a device for introspective contemplation", while Suge used it to "challenge the authenticity of his opponents".[26]
Release and promotion[edit]
"Follow God" was released on October 25, 2019, along with West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King, as its third track.[27] On November 5, West chose it as the lead single from Jesus Is King after it became the album's most popular track on streaming services at the time.[28] The song was playlisted by British mainstream radio station BBC Radio 1 on November 8, 2019.[29] It was later released to radio stations in Italy on November 11, and the United States on November 12, 2019.[28][30]
A lyric video was released for "Follow God" on YouTube on October 26, 2019.[31] On November 1, 2019, West and his gospel group the Sunday Service Choir performed the song during a concert at Bethany Rose Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[32] West performed the track during a surprise appearance at fellow rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston on November 9, 2019.[33] During a Sunday Service Experience performance of the song at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church on November 17, West name-dropped American convict Rodney Reed, who Kardashian helped with delaying a court order.[34] West performed the song live as part of a Sunday Service concert in Downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row on December 29, 2019.[35]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
The music video for the track was directed by Jake Schreier and filmed at West's ranch in Cody, Wyoming.[50][51] It is the first video that Kanye and Ray West have appeared in together.[52] Kardashian shared a preview of the music video via her Instagram stories on November 6, 2019, although the release date for it was unknown at the time.[53][54] Kanye West rented a Burberry store in New York the same day for a private screening of the video.[50] The visual was played back multiple times in a room at the store.[52] Fellow rappers Tyler, the Creator and ASAP Rocky attended the screening.[50] The video was released on YouTube on November 7, 2019; West shared it simultaneously on Twitter.[55][56] "Follow God" became the first song from Jesus Is King to receive a music video.[57][58]
Commercial performance[edit]
Following the release of Jesus Is King, "Follow God" debuted at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest charting track from the album on the chart.[67] It became West's 18th song to reach the top 10 of the chart, and his 8th to debut in the top 10.[68] West tied Ludacris for the fifth-most top 10 singles on the chart among rappers, while also extending his span of top 10s to over 15 years, from 2004 to 2019.[67][69] The track accumulated 34 million streams and sold 8,000 digital copies in its first week, and was present on the chart for six weeks.[68][70]
"Follow God" became West's most successful release on US Christian Songs where it debuted at the top of the chart, ending Lauren Daigle's 66-week run at number one with "You Say".[71][72][73] In total, the track remained at the summit of the Christian Songs chart for eight weeks.[74] It topped the US Gospel Songs chart, spending 35 weeks at number one before falling to number two on the issue date of July 11, 2020, being replaced by West's own single "Wash Us in the Blood".[72][74] The track also reached the summit of the US Christian Streaming Songs, Christian Digital Song Sales, Gospel Streaming Songs, and Gospel Digital Song Sales charts.[74] On the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the track debuted at number three and remained on the chart for a total of six weeks.[75] On January 10, 2024, the song was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for track-equivalent sales of 2,000,000 units in the US.[76]
Elsewhere, "Follow God" peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100 and New Zealand Singles Chart.[77][78] In Australia, it became the highest-charting track from Jesus Is King, entering the ARIA Singles Chart at number seven.[79] On the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at number six, with first-week sales of 32,806 units.[80][81] This gave West his 20th top 10 single in the United Kingdom, and it spent six weeks on the chart.[80][82] On December 11, 2020, "Follow God" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of 200,000 units in the UK.[83] The track charted in the top 10 in Estonia,[84] Ireland,[85] Latvia,[86] Lithuania[87] and Slovakia.[88] It charted at number 11 and 12 on the Danish Track Top-40 and Icelandic Singles Chart, respectively.[89][90] On September 19, 2023, "Follow God" was awarded a gold certification by IFPI Danmark for selling 45,000 units in Denmark.[91] In Norway, the track debuted at number 13 on the Norwegian Topp 40 Singles chart.[92] The track also reached the top 20 in the Czech Republic, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland.[93][94][95] On May 13, 2022, it was certified gold by the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP) for shelving 5,000 units in Portugal.[96]