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Use This Gospel

"Use This Gospel" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019). The song features guest appearances from hip hop duo Clipse and jazz saxophonist Kenny G. It was produced by West, Angel Lopez, DrtWrk, Federico Vindver, and Timbaland, with co-production from BoogzDaBeast and Pi'erre Bourne. The song was recorded as a new version of the leaked track "Law of Attraction", which West came up with in a freestyle session. Clipse's feature on the song marked their reunion, after West requested for a collaboration. A gospel number with a maximalist style, it samples Two Door Cinema Club's "Costume Party" and includes a saxophone solo from Kenny G.

"Use This Gospel"

October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)

2019

Gospel

3:34

  • Kanye West
  • Angel Lopez
  • DrtWrk
  • Federico Vindver
  • Timbaland

Lyrically, the song features Clipse offering self-reflection from each member's different stages and West delivering traditional Christian prayer language. "Use This Gospel" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who mostly appreciated Clipse's presence. They often focused on the duo's reunion, while some critics commended Kenny G's performance. The song debuted at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making Kenny G the fifth artist to achieve a top 40 hit every decade since the 1980s. It reached number 23 on the Latvian Singles Chart and attained top 50 positions in five other countries, including Canada and Iceland. In the United States, the song has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


West, Clipse, Kenny G, and the Sunday Service Choir performed the song live in a meadow at The Forum in October 2019. In the album's accompanying film of the same name, Kanye briefly hums it as a lullaby to Psalm West. A remix of "Use This Gospel", featuring Eminem, was released on DJ Khaled's thirteenth studio album, God Did (2022). Dr. Dre produced the remix with the ICU. Replacing Clipse on the original track, Eminem raps about using faith to battle his personal demons. The remix garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, a number of whom praised Eminem's verse. It reached number 49 on the Hot 100, while topping both the US Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts.

Recording[edit]

In December 2018, West collaborator Timbaland and Vindver took part in recording sessions with numerous rappers in Miami, including Saweetie and Lil Mosey.[28] West had arrived at the sessions in under 24 hours, with Vindver recalling that West "bl[ew them] away" when he started "playing tracks for the Yandhi project."[a][28] Vindver detailed the collaborative process between West and Timbaland, saying: "Timbaland would freestyle with him in the studio — Tim on the drum machine, Kanye singing in real time. He wanted to make more healing music at that time. But he was still finding what it was."[28] West and Timbaland were reported to be recording together in Miami again during January 2019 for completion of the album, alongside rappers such as Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and YNW Melly.[30] In addition to the song, Timbaland contributed production to Jesus Is King tracks "Closed on Sunday", "Water", "Hands On", and "Jesus Is Lord". "Use This Gospel" was produced by West, Mexican-American music producer Angel Lopez, DrtWrk, Vindver, and Timbaland, while co-produced by BoogzDaBeast and Pi'erre Bourne.[b][31]


Lopez recalled that the track "Law of Attraction" stemmed from a freestyle session with Timbaland, during which West hummed its main melody. After the session, Lopez told Vindver to add vocoder to the vocal. Lopez stated that West "went insane" after hearing the track and grabbed his microphone to freestyle the chorus.[16] Lopez recalled that out of the 70 songs that were done in the freestyle session, only "Law of Attraction" was kept, which according to him, was "a crucial piece of music that we worked on, which kept us in the conversation a week later".[16] Singer-songwriter Ant Clemons wrote the track for Yandhi, which leaked online in July 2019, along with other West songs.[16][32][33] It appeared online incorrectly titled "Chakras" and in response to the leaks, Lopez issued a statement that leaked music jeopardizes "the essence of our collaborations, our crafts, and our livelihood".[32][33][34] He further declared, "The leaking of music isn't for the fans or for the love of music; it's an invasion of privacy."[32][33] At the time, it was reported by several outlets that Lopez was involved in the track's production.[34] Reference tracks from British singer Dua Lipa for "Law of Attraction" were included among the leaks, although she and Ant Clemons remained off of Use This Gospel. Full versions of Dua Lipa performing on "Law of Attraction" were later leaked in October 2020. "Law of Attraction" was ultimately scrapped, being re-recorded as "Use This Gospel" for Jesus Is King.[26][35]

Release and promotion[edit]

"Use This Gospel" was released on October 25, 2019, as the tenth and penultimate track on West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King.[36] However, it was originally slated to appear as the album's final track.[37] During various promotional events for the album in late September 2019, West previewed the song.[12] It was played as the final track of a listening event at the United Palace theater in the New York City neighborhood Washington Heights on September 29, for West's mini-tour Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience. The preview was interrupted after 10 p.m. by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), who used their authority to declare the show finished. West responded by pushing the NYPD out of his way, and finishing the song as he sang and hummed with the crowd.[38][39]


On October 27, 2019, West performed the song with Clipse, Kenny G, and his gospel group the Sunday Service Choir for the group's concert at The Forum in Inglewood, California.[40][41] West appeared on a raised platform during the concert and was backed by the Sunday Service Choir, who were dressed in white robes and led by Jason White.[41][42][43] The stage was surrounded by a meadow setting on the arena floor, featuring plants and trees.[42][43] Kenny G played his saxophone to open the performance as West watched him, drawing applause from both the Sunday Service Choir and the audience.[41][42] Clipse embraced each other after No Malice delivered the final line of his verse, "Just hold on to your brother when his faith lost."[40][42] Kenny G explained that the performance was not properly rehearsed, saying it "was so impromptu in some ways".[42] He recalled that a "slight rehearsal" was done, but West is "very creative and on the spot just comes up with some super good ideas".[42]


West accompanied the release of Jesus Is King with his concert film of the same name, which includes him humming a portion of the song in a cappella during the final scene.[44][45][46][47] Kanye performs it as a lullaby to his son Psalm West as he cradles him to his chest, shown in a close-up shot.[45][46][47] The rapper appears shirtless and his face is not visible, with only his hands and torso shown in the shot.[46][47] On September 18, 2020, Kanye revealed via Twitter that "Use This Gospel" is his daughter North West's favorite song by him.[48]

Critical reception[edit]

"Use This Gospel" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, with them mostly praising Clipse's appearance. Aaron McKrell from HipHopDX chose the song as the album's highlight, focusing on the "show-stealing" saxophone solo from Kenny G, "entrancing cries", and Clipse's reunion that is "heavy on duality"; he concluded by calling it both "enjoyable and frustrating" due to indicating "what the entire album could have been like had Ye dedicated more time to this creative space".[49] Pitchfork's Rawiya Kameir believed the maximalism of Kanye West's previous "leather-skirt phase" covers the song's "expansive soundscape" and questioned if Kenny G's solo is "the 2019 equivalent of throwing Elton John onto a hook, just because you can", further branding "the inherent tension" between Clipse as the album's "most interesting moment" thematically.[13] At NOW Magazine, Matthew Progress viewed it as a potential exception to the album's lackluster material, appreciating the "unprecedented reuniting" of Clipse and Kenny G's feature.[50] Will Rosebury of Clash declared that the song features the duo's "long-awaited reunion" and saw it as "a magnificent crescendo to an album that feels like it's been meticulously composed".[51] Journalist Greg Kot wrote for the Chicago Tribune that Clipse's verses are among Jesus Is King's main "musical sparks", noting West allows "message to trump musicality".[25] The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica named the song an album standout, asserting that West's "prayerful singing" with vulnerability echoing his 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak sets up for the duo's "back-to-back verses", and the beginning features "a persistent, needling drone that bespeaks anxiety, disorientation and a pressing need for healing".[20]


In The Independent, Roisin O'Connor highlighted Kenny G's "vibrant sax solo" and picked the song as one of the album's "few tracks that really hark back to West's older sounds", resembling his 2010 single "Power".[21] Ross Horton similarly commented for The Line of Best Fit that it is one of the tracks to keep, observing how "the limitless, endless power" displayed on West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) is evoked.[52] He particularly noticed "how casually we get gifted a Kenny G sax solo, because it's Kanye West motherfucker, he does what he wants".[52] Echoing this sentiment, Paste's Steven Edelstone considered if the solo is the only "memorable hook".[53] In a lukewarm review at Entertainment Voice, Adi Mehta stated that West "sticks to relatively tradition prayer language", with "some more poetic lines" performed by No Malice.[26] Mehta also thought Kenny G's appearance is possibly "the single oddest detail" of Jesus Is King, describing him as sounding like his true self by performing with "a passion that fits the spiritual focus" and affirming he makes the song "highly original".[26] Ben Devlin expressed similar feelings in musicOMH; he called Clipse's reunion the album's "biggest spectacle" with their verses that "go over well", but saw West's "digitised vocal harmonies" as "a little clunky" and threatening to "overshadow the proceedings".[18] Devlin also pointed out that Kenny G's solo may be "technically impressive", yet it is "glaringly unnecessary".[18]


Some reviews were less positive. Joey Chini provided a mixed review of "Use This Gospel" for Exclaim!, highlighting West's delivery of the "great hook", though he complained that Clipse "are criminally underused" on their reunion and viewed Kenny G's "brilliant sax solo" as completely "isolated from the rest of the song".[23] Dean Van Nguyen from The Guardian believed the reunion "promise[s] a beautiful subplot" to the album, describing the duo as "artistically reconciled" by Pusha T's trust "in West's vision" lining up with "No Malice's insistence that his music carries a positive message".[8] However, he labeled the song "frustratingly undercooked" due to its basis of "some dinky keys and West's distorted hums that sound hastily synched by a loop pedal" and said Kenny G's "surprisingly simplistic" solo is "not helped by West", who shows a lack of depth about his personal struggle that inspired the album through certain lines.[8] Entertainment Weekly's Brian Josephs depicted Clipse's reunion as highly "haphazard" and affirmed the verses "work well enough" due to their lyricism, but wrote that it is "mixed like they found really good gospel hums online" rather than "veterans making a song".[27] Wren Graves of Consequence felt that the duo "temporarily impress", yet the moment of interest fails to "sustain over the [song's full] course".[54]

"Use This Gospel" (remix)

August 26, 2022 (2022-08-26)

Gospel

3:44

  • Dr. Dre
  • The ICU