| "Selah" | |
|---|---|
| Song byKanye West | |
| from the albumJesus Is King | |
| Released | October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25) |
| Recorded | 2018–2019 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:45 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
"Selah" is a song by American rapperKanye West from his ninth studio album,Jesus Is King (2019). The song contains additional vocals fromAnt Clemons,BongoByTheWay, and theSunday Service Choir. West co-wrote it with 11 others, while Jeffrey LaValley received songwriting credit due to the songsampling a rendition of the New Jerusalem Choir's work. Ahip hop andgospel song, it instrumentally relies onmilitary drums. The song includes samples of the Sunday Service Choir's rendition of "Revelations 19:1". Lyrically, it sees West asserting his Christian faith and referencingBible verses. The song had originally been slated for release onYandhi in November 2018 until the album was scrapped, though it laterleaked the following year.
Ultimately released as the second track onJesus Is King in October 2019, "Selah" received generally positive reviews frommusic critics. They were often complementary towards the composition and a few praised the sampling of the Sunday Service Choir, though some critics expressed negative feelings of the song's lyrical content. It was among the Winning Gospel Songs at the 2021ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards. The song charted at number 19 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and also reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Latvia, and the United Kingdom. It has been certifiedgold in the United States by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). West and the Sunday Service Choir performed the song live in November 2019. It was used for theSuper Bowl LIV andSuper Bowl LV trailers of the tenthFast & Furious franchise film,F9 (2021). The album's accompanying filmof the same name features an alternative version of the song.
A rendition of the New Jerusalem Choir's "Revelations 19:1" was released on the Sunday Service Choir's debut studio album,Jesus Is Born (2019). Despite being sampled within "Selah", the former was released two months later. A gospel song, the rendition includes achorus that features praise forJesus Christ being delivered by the Sunday Service Choir. It charted at number 17 on the USBillboardGospel Songs chart in 2020. The rendition has been performed live by the Sunday Service Choir on multiple occasions.
American singer-songwriterAnt Clemons first became involved with West during the recording sessions for the rapper's eight studio albumYe (2018), with Clemons helping record the album's secondsingle "All Mine" (2018). Following on from Clemons being involved with West as a songwriter forTeyana Taylor's second studio albumK.T.S.E. in June 2018, the two of them didn't see each other again until the fall of that year.[1] At that time, Clemons went to Chicago and found himselffreestyling in front of others, including West. During the freestyle session, Clemons gave West a demo he worked on, off of which they built the skeleton of "Selah",[1] originally called "Chakras". Alongside helping create the song and providing backing vocals for it, Clemons contributed vocals to fellowJesus Is King tracks "Everything We Need" and "Water".[1][2]
In 2019, West and vocal arranger Nikki Grier ofgospel group theSunday Service Choir re-wrote the lyrics of songs by him.[3] While doing this, West took on the stance of wanting to create music related toGod, setting out to makeChristian music.[3] Though some members of the Sunday Service Choir had been initially dismissive of ideas by West, the group ultimately warmed up to his ideas.[3] Throughout 2019, the Sunday Service Choir's concerts were popular with numerous celebrities, including American actorBrad Pitt.[4] The group ultimately worked onJesus Is King, being heavily involved with it vocally.[3] The first feature on the album is from the Sunday Service Choir on the track "Every Hour", while the group provided additional vocals for "Selah" as well as "Everything We Need" and "Water".[2][4] Alongside the Sunday Service Choir and Clemons, the former of the three includes vocals from record producer Bongo ByTheWay.[2]
West had originally planned to release "Selah" onYandhi in November 2018 and recorded a demo for it, though the album was ultimately shelved.[5][6] In August 2019, West's then-wifeKim Kardashian posted an image of a track list forJesus Is King that showed the song slated for release on it.[7] In the image, theBible was open toPsalm 57:6, a passage that uses the word "Selah".[8] By September 29, 2019, West had re-recorded certain lyrics for the song.[9] It laterleaked online on October 13 of that year after being played at 2019 listening sessions for the album inDetroit, Chicago andNew York, with the leak being different from the version of the song played at the listening sessions.[10] In response to the song and other tracks byGOOD Music rappers leaking in October 2019, the record label's presidentPusha T branded the leaks "cute" but he stated that "if I find out who is leaking it, I will make a decent example out of you...and no one can stop it, no Kanye, nobody!"[11]Def Jam Recordings shared a trailer forJesus Is King that same month, featuring a preview of the song.[12] Jeffrey LaValley, musical director of the New Jerusalem Choir, received writing credit on "Selah" due to having created and wrote the melody of the group's recording "Revelations 19:1" (1984), which the song samples a rendition of.[a][13] With the original version having been released back in 1984, West only needed amechanical license for usage because it could be classified aspublic domain.[13] He also wrote the song, along withCyhi the Prynce,Consequence, Federico Vindver,No Malice, BoogzDaBeast, Rennard East, Pusha T,E*vax,Sean Leon, John Boyd, and Adam Wright.[b][2] The title "Selah" is aHebrewterm that appears throughout theBook of Psalms, which West defined as a term meaning "to look back and reflect upon".[14]
Musically, "Selah" is ahip hop and gospel track.[21][22] Instrumentation for the song consists primarily ofmilitary drums, which have been noted for conveying attitude.[17][18] Thechord progression of it was compared to that of the track "Gerudo Valley", from the soundtrack of video gameThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998).[23][24][25] The song featuressamples of a gospel rendition of the New Jerusalem Choir's "Revelations 19:1", as performed by the Sunday Service Choir.[19][26] Prior to the song'schorus,organ chords are featured alongside West rapping.[16] The chorus includes repeated "hallelujah" chants from the Sunday Service Choir, which are sampled from the rendition.[15][16][20] Percussion and sound effects ofmetal scraping accompany the chorus, while theoctave of the vocals rises.[27][28] The group being sampled adds gospel vocals to the chorus and as it continues, the instrumentation is silenced.[19][20]A capella singing from the Sunday Service Choir follows, while the chorus ends with the line "He is wonderful" from the group.[20] After the chorus, West raps in time with the drums coming in.[20]
The lyrics of the song are used by West to assert his faith in Christianity, with it including verses of the Bible being referenced by him.[16][29] The song opens with West using his faith to boast, "God is king, we the soldiers", which alludes to his past and how he has evolved over time.[17][30] Comparing himself toNoahbefore the story of theGenesis flood took place, West mentions that he is being judged.[31] West deliversChristian rapping, including him using the lyrics: "Everybody wantedYandhi/ThenJesus Christ did the laundry."[20][31] The lyrics indicate that West scrappedYandhi due to his religious beliefs after going through anew birth experience, since he vowed to no longer createsecular music, providing fans with meaning of the album being shelved.[6][31][32] West uses certain lyrics to referenceJohn 8:33 and John 8:36.[15] For the conclusion of the song, crys of "Woo" are heard.[33]
"Selah" was released on October 25, 2019, as the second track on West's ninth studio albumJesus Is King.[34] On September 28, 2019, West played the song twice during a listening party for the album at theAuditorium Theatre in Chicago.[35][36] Of the song's presence at the listening session, attendeeDonald Lawrence recalled that watching "a crowd that was probably 25% African American, 75% caucasian — hip-hop kids from the suburbs — go bananas when the choir came in [was amazing]".[35] The following day, West previewed the song as part of the album's listening party at New York'sUnited Palace.[9]
West and the Sunday Service Choir performed the song live at Bethany Church inBaton Rouge on November 3, 2019.[37] For West's Sunday Service Experience atJoel Osteen'sLakewood Church on November 17 of that year, the song was performed by him and the group.[38] During the performance, the line "He saved a wretch like me" was sung off-key by West.[38] West performed the song live during a Sunday Service concert atPigeon Forge's LeConte Center on January 19, 2020.[39] On January 27, West held a midnight Sunday Service concert in tribute to American basketball playerKobe Bryant after the2020 Calabasas helicopter crash killed 9 people including Bryant and his daughter.[40] West performed the song live during the concert, with his then-sister-in-lawKourtney Kardashian sharing videos of him performing it to herInstagram Stories.[40]
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"Selah" was met with lukewarm reviews frommusic critics, with general praise for the composition. Rawiya Kameir ofPitchfork noted "the battle drums that propel" the song for echoing "the stark, confrontational attitude of" West's sixth studio albumYeezus (2013).[18]Entertainment Weekly's Brian Josephs praised the song for the Sunday Service Choir going "to awe in the climax".[41] Jordan Bassett fromNME commented that the song features "dour organ" and "intermittent percussion".[27] Sam C. Mac ofSlant Magazine viewed the Sunday Service Choir as "on hand" for elevating the song, specifically with a "hallelujah" chant "that's augmented by dynamic leaps in octave and by Ye's colossal bursts of percussive, scraping-metal sound effects".[28] Will Rosebury fromClash admitted that hearing West rap the lyrics, "Keeping perfect composure/When I scream at the chauffeur/I ain't mean I'm just focused" would mean the fans "fearing an ultra-positive Kanye will breathe a sigh of relief", while Rosebury questioned "who the fuck wants a reined-in Kanye West?"[42] In a review forAmerican Songwriter, Luke Levenson stated the song is where "West punctuates his bars with bible verses several times", which he called "punchy moments" that are "weighed down by the effeteness" of certain lyrics.[29] Levenson elaborated, describing West as delivering the lyrics "with an exerted vocal effect, tensing up his throat as the track drives beneath his voice" and concluded by writing that this "amounts to heavy stuff", though is "less gripping" than West's previous works related to God.[29]The New York Times criticJon Caramanica opined that the song "swells until West cites Bible verses over door-slam percussion, suggesting an explosion of religious awakening", while noting his rapping sometimes being "tart".[43]
In a mixed review, Brendan Klinkenberg ofRolling Stone complemented the song's composition for "lightly affected organs opening to bludgeoning percussion and a crescendoing choir" but criticized West's rapping due to being what "capsizes the vessel" and slammed his lyricism.[44] ForThe Atlantic, Spencer Kornhaber said that the album's excitement "comes to a thud" when West begins rapping on the song, criticizing his lyricism despite directing praise towards the song's drums and the addition of the Sunday Service Choir for the chorus.[17] Wren Graves was more negative atConsequence, noting the drums "temporarily impress" and analyzing that the song "creates an expectant atmosphere with moody organs" alongside the Sunday Service Choir "whispering 'Hallelujah'" as West "quotes theBook of John on bondage and slavery", but complained that even though you think it "is going somewhere" due to the Sunday Service Choir getting louder and the tension rising, "poof, nothing happens".[33] Graves expressed further criticism, describing the later part of the song as where West "returns with a meandering verse about greed, betrayal, forgiveness, and truth, saying nothing as he tries to cover everything", concluding that there is "no central idea, no point".[33] Ross Horton fromThe Line of Best Fit listed the song among the parts ofJesus Is King "not worth saving", branding it as "a bunch of Bible verses interspersed with barbed, growled snatches of vocal".[45] InThe Guardian, Dean Van Nguyen called the song's lyrical content "as thin asBible paper".[16]
"Selah" received a nomination for Top Gospel Song at the2020Billboard Music Awards, though ultimately lost the award to fellow album track "Follow God".[46] At the 2021ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards, the former was awarded as one of the Winning Gospel Songs.[47]
Following the release ofJesus Is King, "Selah" debuted on the USBillboard Hot 100 at number 19.[48] The track remained on the Hot 100 for two weeks.[49] It entered at number three on the USChristian Songs chart, alongside charting identically on theGospel Songs chart.[50] On the USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the track reached number 10.[51] "Selah" was certifiedgold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for amassing 500,000 certified units in the United States on July 9, 2021.[52]
The track entered theCanadian Hot 100 at number 19, charting identically to its debut on theBillboard Hot 100.[53] Similarly, "Selah" reached number 18 on theARIA Singles Chart, standing as the album's second highest charting track in Australia.[54] The track was less successful on theNew Zealand Singles Chart, debuting at number 24.[55] It charted identically on theLatvian Singles Chart andUK Singles Chart, peaking at number 19 on both of the charts.[56][57] Top 30 positions were attained by the track inIceland,Ireland,Denmark, andEstonia.[58][59][60][61] In Slovakia, the track experienced lesser performance, peaking at number 31 on the country's Singles Digitál Top 100 chart.[62] It also reached the top 50 inSwitzerland,Lithuania andPortugal.[63][64][65]
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West screened hisconcert filmJesus Is King atthe Forum in the County of Los Angeles on October 23, 2019, revealing "Selah" as part of the soundtrack.[66] Two days later,Jesus Is King was released simultaneously with the album of the same name, including a special mix of the song that is listed in the film's credits.[67][68] American musician Louie Zong shared an edit of "Selah" that combined it with "Gerudo Valley" on the same day, which was met with generally positive responses from fans of West.[23][69] On November 14, 2019, LaValley recalled his niece calling him fromPhoenix and "saying congratulations", with LaValley questioning in response: "Congratulations? Congratulations for what?"[13] LaValley's niece replied by telling that his "tune is on Kanye's album", with him responding with: "Girl, shut up", and laughing, while being amazed when seeing himself credit as a writer on the song.[a][13] According to LaValley, the song's popularity brought more attention to the New Jerusalem Choir version, which he labeled "an honor".[13] When questioned about West possibly performing the song in LaValley's hometown ofFlint he acknowledged that an appearance from West "would be controversial", despite stating: "I don't know. I'd love for him to. I'd love to see him come to Flint."[13]
Kim Kardashian shared a video of her and Kanye's daughter Chicago West singing the "hallelujah" part of "Selah" viaInstagram on January 28, 2020.[70] Kardashian captioned the video "Chi's favorite songs 🙏🏼✨" and fans praised Chicago's singing skills, while Kanye later stated that it is their daughter's favorite song.[70][71] On February 2, 2020, theSuper Bowl LIV trailer for the tenthFast & Furious franchise filmF9 (2021) was released and included the song.[72][73] The song was later used in another trailer that premiered at theSuper Bowl LV in February 2021.[74] In September 2023, West'sremix albumJesus Is King Part II with record producer and fellow rapperDr. Dre leaked online, featuring an intro that combines "Selah" with the album's original opener "Every Hour".[75]
| "Revelations 19:1" | |
|---|---|
| Song bySunday Service Choir | |
| from the albumJesus Is Born | |
| Released | December 25, 2019 (2019-12-25) |
| Recorded | 2019 |
| Genre | Gospel |
| Length | 5:33 |
| Label |
|
| Composer(s) |
|
A rendition of the track "Revelations 19:1" by the New Jerusalem Baptist Church Choir was recorded by the Sunday Service Choir, and the rendition is sampled within "Selah".[19][26] The Sunday Service Choir version of "Revelations 19:1" was released on December 25, 2019, as the third track on the group's debut studio albumJesus Is Born.[76] However, this was two months after the release of "Selah" onJesus Is King, meaning that the rendition had been sampled prior to release.[34][77] In January 2019, formerWest Angeles Church of God in Christ music director Jason White received a call from Ray Romulus ofthe Stereotypes telling him that Kanye West wanted a choir, requesting 100 people for it and to put together a band.[3] Despite being "a little scared" of getting involved with any of West's controversies, White said that he "could see something different about this guy" on the night of first meeting West in rehearsal and he has since served as the Sunday Service Choir's director.[3] White solely arranged the rendition, while he also composed it alongside Nikki Grier, Stephen A. Hurd and Steve Epting.[78]
"Revelations 19:1" is a gospel track, which features the Sunday Service Choir singing for over five minutes.[19] Its chorus sees the group deliver praise for Christ, including them singing "hallelujah" repeatedly.[19] The rendition reached number 17 on the USBillboard Gospel Songs chart for the issue date of January 11, 2020.[79] It has been regularly performed live by the Sunday Service Choir on a weekly basis.[19]
Credits adapted fromTidal.[78]
A. Jeffrey LaValley—composer of Revelation 19:1
Credits for "Selah" adapted fromTidal and theBMI Repertoire.[b][2]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[52] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
