Jesus Is King may have failed to arrive as expected, but that didn't stop Kanye West from surprising the audience of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Emerging to a standing ovation with a no-nonsense glare on his face, Kanye West approaches Kimmel at the head of the stage. As the applause builds, Ye allows himself time to bask, cracking a smile in the face of adoration. Off the bat, Kimmel inquires about the state of Jesus Is King, prompting Kanye to falsely confirm the missed midnight release; clearly, something went awry in the process, and given his uncomfortable body language during his response, he likely saw it coming.
In keeping the album's Christian themes, Kanye praises his daughter North's excitement to go to church. "She has such a positive thought association with going to church, because it's outside of the traditional four walls and pews," he explains. "Now that God has called me and I now have given my life to Jesus Christ, and I work for God. Now we have Christian innovation in our time."
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"It feels like God is using me, and using the choir, and my family to show off," he continues. "We're in complete service to God, and the business is thriving." To be fair, Jimmy points out that Kanye has actually made church "fun," especially for the younger generation; some might have once described such a task as "Herculean." Kanye remains in disbelief at the notion, showing a rare moment of humility.
He proceeds to switch into business mode after learning that a multi-million dollar lottery winner was in attendance. Singling out the man's for his Gucci jacket, Yeezy proceeds to subtly call his decision-making into question. "I see the Gucci jacket, I was like okay that's nice," he says. "I got a cheap-ass hoodie on and I'm a billionaire. Sorry I said ass, my Christian score-card is lowered for the day. When I first got money I didn't have a CFO or people who can really show me." He paints himself as an inspiration, one who survived numerous cancellations and unfavorable alliances.
Check out the full video below, and take a look as to why Jesus Is King failed to arrive as planned right here.