Kanye West performed his classic hit “Jesus Walks” at a World AIDS
Day event in Times Square and new reports. The Grammy award-winning
artist and self-proclaimed “Christian family man” fulfilled
philanthropic duties in New York City last night, alongside other
acclaimed musicians, in a bid to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS
prevention.
He performed four popular tracks including his 2004
hit “Jesus Walks,” which alludes to challenges he has faced in his
Christian walk of faith. Other performers included Carrie Underwood,
Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and more.
“I’m working on one mission, and that’s a mission from God,” West once told Power106FM about his work. “I’m here to help. I’m going to apply all the blessings I’ve got.” The
powerful performance came amid news that the rapper is gearing up to
release his seventh studio album. It is unclear whether the project,
which is a follow up to West’s 2013 “Yeezus” album, will feature faith
elements like so many of his previous albums have, however; a music
veteran and longtime collaborator of West’s described it as being
“different.”
“The album is different. It’s like a pair of
Timberlands; like how Timberlands are not quite leather and not quite
suede,” Malik Yusef previously told Rolling
Stone. “It’s not the smooth, slick Chicago music sound we have right
now and it’s not the ruggedness of just ‘hip-hop hip-hop
hip-hop’…We’ve been all around the world [recording].”
The rapper, who is said to
be planning a North American tour in 2015, made headlines last year
while performing his “Yeezus” tour in the U.S. following his decision to
bring out a Jesus look-a-like on stage during “Jesus Walks.”
“I had a friend of mine that’s a pastor there as we started discussing how we wanted to deliver it,” West previously told Wild 94.9.
“My
girl [Kim Kardashian] even asked afterwards, ‘Is that weird if Jesus
comes onstage?'” he continued. “They’re like, ‘No. We do plays all the
time. People play Jesus.
You know what’s awesome about Christianity?
We’re allowed to portray God. We’re allowed to draw an image of him.
We’re allowed to make movies about him. Other religions, you’re not
allowed to do that. That’s what’s really awesome about Christianity.
That’s one of the really awesome things.”
