| "Jesus Walks" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byKanye West | ||||
| from the albumThe College Dropout | ||||
| B-side | "Heavy Hitters" | |||
| Released | May 25, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2000–2003 | |||
| Studio | Sony Music Studios, Light @ The End of the Tunnel, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:13 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | Kanye West | |||
| Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Jesus Walks (Version 2)" on YouTube | ||||
"Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapperKanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut albumThe College Dropout (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its compelling sonic atmosphere and boldness in its open embrace of faith. It was met by widespread commercial success, peaking at No. 11 on theBillboard Hot 100 and becoming West's fourth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United States.
The single was accompanied by three separatemusic videos, each of which visually interpreted a portion of its multifaceted context in different ways. "Jesus Walks" continues to be a crowd favorite and stands as one of the most-performed songs by West, who has included it within all of his headlining tours. At the47th Grammy Awards, "Jesus Walks" was awarded theGrammy Award for Best Rap Song, and received a nomination forSong of the Year.
Various publications placed the song on several year and decade-end lists, and have since listed it among the greatest of all time. The song was named the best song of 2004 onVillage Voice'sPazz & Jop critics poll.[1]Pitchfork listed it at No. 123 on its list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2000s,[2] whileNME placed it at No. 69 on its list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" in October 2014.[3]Rolling Stone named the song No. 19 on their list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2000s, and later placed it at No. 273 on its 2010 list ofThe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song is essentially a spiritual exultation, wherein West discusses howJesus "walks" with all manner of people, from the sinner to the saint. Towards this end, the first conceptual verse of the song is told through the eyes of adrug dealer contemplating his relationship with God. It reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse.[4][5] West also uses the song to express his critical views on how themedia seem to shy away from songs that address matters of faith, while embracing songs discussingviolence,sex, andillegal drugs. He rhymes,"So here go my single, dawg, radio needs this/They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes/But if I talk about God my record won't get played, huh?" This is directly taken from West's experiences when he was struggling to get signed onto a record label; many executives turned him down after he played ademo of the song for them.[6] They reasoned that he did not conform to the stereotypes associated with mainstream hip-hop and therefore was not easily marketable. Many of his friends in the music industry also warned him that while the song was outstanding, it would never make it to radio.[7]
"Jesus Walks" is a mid-tempo hip-hop song. It is set incommon time with a moderatetempo of 87beats per minute and composed in the key ofE-flat minor. The song expresses a pulsatingrhythm reminiscent to that of amarching band. The rhythm is accompanied by background vocal samples from the ARC Choir's arrangement of the traditionalgospel song "Walk With Me" that emit a chant incadence to thebeat.[8] Because of these elements, the composition has been widely described as evoking a militaristic atmosphere.[9] The song begins with a medium tempo followed by its backing vocals and choral arrangement. After West's brief opening dialog, adrumroll sounds and the track's titularhook is belted by the ARC (Addicts Rehabilitation Center) choir and coupled with thechorus. Meanwhile, the song'smelody is laced withauto-tune-processedgospel wails.[10] Over time the song amasses itself, exhibitingmulti-trackedviolin flourishes and momentary vocalsolos, gradually growing in intensity before peaking and immediately dissipating.[11] The song repeats this process several times until itfades away completely at its conclusion.[12]
The militant soundscape of "Jesus Walks" is complemented by its lyrical nuances. In theintro, the voice of adrill sergeant initiates the song with an "Order Arms" and is answered by a squad of soldiers who shout "1-2-3-4!" This exchange is followed by West's opening lines, where he declares, "we are at war with ourselves."[9] West retains a considerable amount of dynamics in hisrap delivery, as hisflow features constant shifts in cadence,pitch, andvolume over the simplistic rhythm. During the chorus, his voice builds in intensity in conjunction with the similarly swelling track, and peaks and fades away just before it follows suit. He also employs variousrhyme schemes and phrasal techniques, at one point even using acall-and-response pattern.[12]
The single received universal acclaim from critics for its open embracement of faith in the face of the oft-secular music industry, with many expressing their astonishment that such an overtly religious song was embraced by radio. In a review ofThe College Dropout,Village Voice characterized the song as a "desperate masterpiece."[13]Stylus Magazine music reviewer Josh Love cited "Jesus Walks" as the best song on the entire album, saying "Kanye makes his spiritual toil sound like triumph thanks to martial drums and a littlegospel choir fervor, sounding a clarion call of salvation to all would-be doubters and haters. He swears that he's not trying to 'convert atheists into believers,' but listening toThe College Dropout might just convince you that Kanye West is theSecond City's Second Coming."[14]The Los Angeles Times similarly considered "Jesus Walks" to be the highlight of the album, stating, "Its pulsating drums serve as the perfect backing for West's reflections on his own mistakes as well as hip-hop's tendency to focus on negative subject matter."[15]PopMatters, which hailed "Jesus Walks" as the year's best single, listed the song as one of the primary tracks which exemplified the thoughtfulness and scholastic complexity inherent ofThe College Dropout as a whole, commenting that, "On 'Jesus Walks' Kanye proclaims his devotion toJesus as seriously as the most devotionalhymn singer would, while illustrating the way he falls in and out of what he perceives as the good path to follow. 'I wanna talk toGod but I'm afraid cause we ain't spoke in so long,' he confesses, but then he goes ahead and asks us all to join him in that conversation, to push the song onto radio and push the divine into the heart of public dialogue. Extra dimensions are added to the song by the intense, cinematic presence it has, with all of the drama of a gangster film's climactic scenes, and by aCurtis Mayfield drop that makes the song ripe for a study of intertextuality."[16][17]
Alongside its subject matter, the production quality of the track received equal acclaim, with Garry Mulholland ofThe Observer chronicling it as "[a] towering inferno of martial beats, fathoms-deep chain gang backing chants, a defiant children's choir, gospel wails, and sizzling orchestral breaks."[10]Kelefa Sanneh ofThe New York Times, who classified "Jesus Walks" as a gospel song, concurred with this sentiment, describing the song's choral arrangement as "clever".[18]Blender likened the beat of the song to a "phantom marching army", andEntertainment Weekly testified that the "lush, intricate" production of the track gave off an "uplifting" presence.[19][20]Time magazine criticJosh Tyrangiel declared "Jesus Walks" as "one of those miraculous songs that you hear for the first time and immediately look forward to hearing on a semiregular basis for the next 30 or 40 years."[21]Sasha Frere-Jones ofThe New Yorker asserted that the song, "sounds simultaneously likeV-Day and like a funeral" and concluded his review stating, "In a different year, 'Jesus Walks' might register as an eccentric's conflation of faith, commerce, and war. In 2004, it's a popular state of consciousness."[9]
"Jesus Walks" was praised as one of the best songs of the year by numerous publications, includingBlender,Rolling Stone, andVillage Voice.[22][23] The song received a nomination forOutstanding Song as well asOutstanding Music Video at the36th NAACP Image Awards.[24] At theGrammy Awards of 2005, "Jesus Walks" was nominated forSong of the Year, one of ten total nominations West received for that year alone.[25] West,Rhymefest andMiri Ben-Ari won theGrammy Award for Best Rap Song for co-writing the song's lyrics and violin arrangements respectively.[8][26] The music video won the 2005MTV Video Music Award for best male video while West also received a nomination forBest Gospel Artist for "Jesus Walks" at the 2005BET Awards, although he was not an actual gospel musician.[27]
As a result of the significance and impact of "Jesus Walks", in August,The College Dropout was nominated for several gospelStellar Awards, including Best Gospel Rap Album.[28] However, the awards committees determined that the secular album was ineligible and subsequently withdrew the ballot.[29] West surmised that the fact that they recognized the song in the first place demonstrated its impact, and said the song and its message was not meant for the evangelical audience, but for "... the people that I think God is really trying to reach."[7] He also clarified his views on religion, saying, "Religion just means that you do something over and over. I will say that I'm spiritual. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. And I will say that I fall short every day."[30] Kanye later claimed that when his father heard the song, he said, "Maybe you missed your calling." To which West replied, "No, maybe this is my calling. I reach more people than any one pastor can."[31] In retrospect, West maintained that while he was surprised by the accolades the song received, he had long predicted the radio success of "Jesus Walks". For him, it was all just a matter of attaining airplay, saying, "It was never a problem once it came out. All I did was usereverse psychology. It was a way of calling out people who didn't want to play it without pointing fingers at anybody."[6]
The song was named the sixth best song of 2004 onVillage Voice'sPazz & Jop critics poll. "Jesus Walks" was ranked number 273Rolling Stone's list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time.Rolling Stone also named the song number 19 on their list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s.[32]BET named it the second best song of the 2000s.[33] In October 2011,NME placed it at number 69 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[34] In 2012,Consequence named it the 89th Greatest song of all time.[35] In January 2013,BBC Radio 6 Music readers voted for it as the 88th greatest song released in 6 Music's lifetime.[36] In 2017, Rolling Stone placed it 32 in its list of Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of all time.[37]
"Jesus Walks" appeared on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 74 on the issue dated February 21.[38] After sixth months, the track peaked at No. 2 for the issue dated August 14 and maintained the position for two weeks.[39][40] "Jesus Walks" first came in at No. 25 onHot Rap Tracks for the issue dated April 17.[41] On the issue date of August 7, the song peaked at No. 3.[42]
Despite all prior disapproval, "Jesus Walks" came to be one of West's biggest hits. The single was the highest debut on theBillboardHot 100 for the week of its first appearance, entering the chart at No. 68 on April 29, 2004.[43] Over the next eight weeks, the song climbed up the chart until it eventually reached No. 16 for the issue dated July 3, where it remained for four weeks.[44] On the issue dated July 24, the song climbed up two places to reach the fourteenth position.[45] "Jesus Walks" reached its overall peak at No. 11 on the issue date of July 31, where it stayed for two weeks in a row.[46] "Jesus Walks" has since been awarded atriple platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America for pushing 3,000,000 certified units in the US.[47]
"Jesus Walks" attained a certain extent of international success as well. InIreland, the song peaked at No. 18 on September 2, 2004, where it remained for two weeks.[48] The song's highest debut occurred in theUnited Kingdom, where it entered at its peak position of sixteen on September 5, becoming West's third top-twenty hit.[49] On March 14, 2005, the song debuted in theAustralian Singles Chart at No. 37.[50]
In total, three separate music videos were made for "Jesus Walks," with the second and third financed by West himself out-of-pocket.[30] All three were premiered on June 21, 2004, atTriBeCa Cinemas, where West explained, "That song evokes so much emotion, and four minutes of imagery limits the ideas that you're supposed to give for the songs, so I had to do three."[51] West had originally wantedHype Williams to direct the first version of "Jesus Walks" but decided not to because he had heard thatJay-Z was thinking about enlisting Williams for "99 Problems."[51] Instead, West went withMichael Haussman for the music video, which was filmed inCalifornia and budgeted at $650,000.[30][52] In the video, West is portrayed as a preacher rapping before a congregation from a pulpit whileangels guide a prostitute, an alcoholic, and a drug dealer to hisBaptist church.[51]
"His hate is so all-consuming that he tries to carry theburning cross back up the mountain. That's the physical manifestation of his hate, and he wants it to get to the top of the mountain for the world to see. He's so blinded by his hate that he doesn't [consider that his robe will burn]. ButGod forgives him and causes it to rain, therefore extinguishing [the fire], and that's a sort ofbaptism; washing away his sins. I doubt anyone's anyone got all that, but it's nice to at least make an attempt to build in some layers. I know a lot of it is going to be lost in the translation of just being a music video, but the song is so deep and powerful it necessitates going the extra step with the visual metaphors."
West was not satisfied with the music video and convinced then-label headDame Dash to commission another, this time for $500,000.[30] The second version was directed byChris Milk and takes place in the deep South. The core concept behind the video, which Milk described as his most complex narrative, was to take various deplorable characters and merge them with biblical iconography in order convey the message thatGod is with them. The secondary objective was to display the duality of man.[54] The video stands as the most metaphorical of the three, as it features West rapping in a hallway which is filled alternately with hellish flames and angelic light, in conjunction with footage of drug traffickers being pursued through a barren desert by police, prison camp inmates battling with guards, and aKu Klux Klansman setting himself on fire while carrying a burning cross up a mountain.[52]The video was named as one of the best of the 2000s decade by Dugald Baird ofThe Guardian.[55]
The final version of "Jesus Walks" was filmed in West's hometown ofChicago and co-directed by himself withCoodie & Chike (Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah of Channel Zero). Filmedguerrilla-style within the course of one day at a budget of $40,000, the third version was the least expensive of the three. It depictsJesus in the modern day, literally walking beside the protagonist as he travels from his home to church, performing miracles along the way.[30] The video premiered on MTV.com on June 23, 2004.[51]
The music video received several wins and nominations; It earned two nominations at the2005 MTV Video Music Awards forVideo of the Year andBest Male Video, winning the latter.[56] It wonVideo of the Year at the2005 BET Awards.[57] The music video earned two nominations forBest Male Video andBest Hip-Hop Video at the2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[58] "Jesus Walks" was nominated for Best International Video at the2004 MuchMusic Video Awards.[59] The music video received three nominations at the 2005 Music Video Production Awards, for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Hip-Hop Video.[60] At the2005 Soul Train Music Awards "Jesus Walks" was nominated forVideo of the Year.[61] The video earned a nomination forOutstanding Music Video at the2005 NAACP Image Awards.[62]
Thanks to its fervid sound and widespread popularity, "Jesus Walks" has since become a crowd favorite and Kanye West has performed it on numerous occasions around the globe. West included the song within the set list of hisSchool Spirit Tour that took place in early 2004.[63] An early live performance of the song occurred in his hometown ofChicago at a concert withDilated Peoples held in theHouse of Blues on May 5, 2004.[64] West provided a performance of "Jesus Walks" for the opening of the 2004BET Awards, in which he stood behind a pulpit and was accompanied by achoir,drumline andgospel singerYolanda Adams.[65] While serving as the opening act forUsher'sThe Truth Tour, West performed "Jesus Walks" as his finale.[66] West opened the2004 MTV Video Music Awards with a theatrical performance of "Jesus Walks."[67] He led a 32-member choir around an arena filled with audience members holding artificial candles and hadstained glass windows descend from the ceiling as he joinedJohn Legend,Chaka Khan, andSyleena Johnson onstage.[68] During his appearance atDave Chapelle's Block Party in September, West performed "Jesus Walks" accompanied by aCentral State University marching band.[69] He provided a performance of "Jesus Walks" during his brief appearance atBrixton Academy inLondon on November 24.[70]
West performed "Jesus Walks" at the47th Grammy Awards ceremony just prior to his receipt of the award forBest Rap Album.[71] This performance, which featured West's motherDonda West, was joined in a sequence withMavis Staples andJohn Legend's rendition of "I'll Take You There" and a performance of "I'll Fly Away" by theBlind Boys of Alabama. At the conclusion, the performers encircled and covered West, who eventually emerged donning an all-white suit with large angelic wings.[72][73] That July, West played the song during his set at aLive 8 show held inPhiladelphia'sMuseum of Art, where he was backed by an eleven-piece femalestring orchestra decked out in black masks and garments.[74] As he played,Will Smith andDJ Jazzy Jeff danced to the song backstage.[75] Accompanied by a seventeen-piece, all-female string orchestra, West performed "Jesus Walks" live for an exclusive concert held atAbbey Road Studios inLondon, England on September 21.[76] The performance was recorded and later released on alive album entitledLate Orchestration.[77] West included "Jesus Walks" within the setlist of hisTouch the Sky Tour that took place in late 2005.[78] He performed the song atSanta Monica High School for a concert promoting higher education sponsored by his charity foundation.[79]
Wearing aDetroit Pistons jacket, West performed the song for a pre-game concert held duringVH1's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash on February 2, 2006.[80] He played "Jesus Walks" near the end of his concert at theHammersmith Apollo in London on February 12.[81] The following week, West performed the song once again at theManchesterMEN Arena with DJA-Trak, two backing vocalists, a nine-piece female string orchestra and aharpist. The performance concluded by displaying an image of theCristo de la Concordia on a gigantic monitor.[82] West played "Jesus Walks" during his appearance at the first day ofCoachella 2006 inIndio, California, where he later on had A-Trak spinA-Ha's "Take On Me" while he danced onstage to the delight of the audience.[83] On June 22, West performed the song while attending a benefit held inNew York staged for the non-profitFoundation for AIDS Research.[84]
Kanye provided a performance of the song during his set atLive Earth 2007, before joiningThe Police andJohn Mayer onstage to perform "Message in a Bottle" for the concert's finale.[85] West performed "Jesus Walks" live for theConcert for Diana held atWembley Stadium on July 1, 2007, to a crowd of over 63,000 people.[86] An estimated 500 million people watched the event in over 140 countries worldwide.[87] The very next day, West performed the song as the finale of his gig at theManchester Apollo for theManchester International Festival.[88] "Jesus Walks" was included within the setlist of West's conceptualGlow in the Dark Tour that first took off in late 2007. During the concert, an LCD screen seated behind him displayed a skyline filled with lightning bolts while fumes billowed from the stage on the hook.[89] That August, West played "Jesus Walks" at the Exdo Event Center inDenver for a private show at held forBono'shumanitarian organizationONE.[90] West gave a performance of "Jesus Walks" before an audience of 3,000 students during his free Stay In School benefit concert atChicago Theatre on July 11, 2009.[91] He performed the song inHyde Park, London while headlining the second and final day of the 2009Wireless Festival.[92]
"Jesus Walks" has been credited with helping to abate the antagonistic gap that once separated mainstream rap music and the religious church.[93] Since then, countless ministries began to embrace hip hop and incorporate the musical genre into their gospel services.[31] In her biographical book, Kanye's motherDonda West recalled an instance where over three hundred adolescents “gave their lives toChrist” the night her son performed the song at a youth revival center.[94]Darryl McDaniels of the groundbreaking hip hop groupRun-DMC toldTime magazine that he had grown indifferent towards contemporary rap music and ceased listening to it until he heard "Jesus Walks".[95] The song was used in the trailer, as well as the credits of the 2005Gulf War filmJarhead.[96][97] "Jesus Walks" was featured in theAMC series "‘Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America", a six part documentary series that focused on a groundbreaking song each episode.[98][99]
US Promo single
US 12" single
Australia CD single
| UK CD single
UK Promo single
Live Digital single
|
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[113] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[114] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[47] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12) | Rhythmic contemporary ·urban contemporary radio | Roc-A-Fella,IDJMG | [115] |
Information taken fromThe College Dropout liner notes.[8]
| "Jesus Walks (Remix)" | |
|---|---|
| Song byKanye West featuringMase andCommon | |
| from the albumThe College Dropout Video Anthology | |
| Released | March 22, 2005 |
| Recorded | 2004 |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Length | 4:58 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters |
|
| Producer | West |
The official remix of "Jesus Walks" was released on a bonus CD within hisThe College Dropout Video Anthology compilation DVD in 2005, which was recorded in 2004 and features bothMase andCommon on it. At the time of the remix, Mase had recently come out of retirement from being a minister to deliver a new verse.[116] He spoke positively of West following the collaboration, saying, "I appreciate people like [him], people that dare to be different. Hip-hop is supposed to be an avenue of expression, and people are supposed to be able to express what they feel, what they believe."[117] It was originally included onThe College Dropout Video Anthology,[118] released on the 22nd of March, 2005, throughRoc-A-Fella Records andDef Jam Recordings. It would later be included on the Japanese special edition ofThe College Dropout, released that same year.
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