Not long after Kanye's Twitter spat with Wiz Khalifa last month, the MC made an unexpected announcement: "This album is actually a Gospel album." And sure enough, when The Life Of Pablo finally arrived this weekend, the very first track featured a choir and an appearance by one of gospel's biggest stars, Kirk Franklin.
Franklin seemed to address Kanye's Christian critics yesterday in an Instagram post. "Kanye is not me," he wrote. "I am not him... Before one song was released, I was crucified because my brother asked me to take a picture. Again 'no Kanye, you're not good enough'? No. That is a dangerous message I believe we send to the world when our posture is they have to meet certain requirements before they are worthy to kiss the ring. It says people are not redeemable, forgivable or candidates for grace."
"I will not turn my back on my brother," Franklin continued. "I will love him, prayerfully grow with him. However long he'll have me, and however long the race takes. To a lot of my Christian family, I'm sorry he's not good enough, Christian enough, or running at your pace...and as I read some of your comments, neither am I. That won't stop me from running. Pray we win."
Read his full post above, and stream "Ultralight Beam" here.
