Love him or hate him, rapper KanyeWest has done nothing if not evolve over the course of his career. He hascycled through mainstream hip-hop, auto-tuned singing, soulful sampling, epic egotistical commentary and— as he would happily tell you — muchmore.
At the moment, West, 42, is in themidst of an intensely religious phase.
Since the beginning of the year he hasheld what he calls a Sunday Service each week — a pop-up Christianservice of sorts that has rotated through different (at timessecret) locations across the country. It involves some prayer, but it’s mainlyfocused on a live gospel choir covering songs by him and others. Some of his celebrity friends havestarted attending, and it’s become so popular that he bought a property inWyoming to host larger versions.
Last month, West released agospel-infused album titled “Jesus is King,” on which he raps and sings almostexclusively about his newfound love for God. He has since announced he will produce a “Jesusis King Part II” with the help of Dr. Dre, and recently visited JoelOsteen’s megachurch in Houston.
“I know that God’s been calling me fora long time and the devil has been distracting me for a long time,” West said athis Osteen church appearance. “When I was at my lowest points, God was therewith me. Inspiring me and sending me visions.”
Soit wasn’t overly surprising when West announced thathe is premiering a religious-themed opera at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles thisSunday, Nov. 24, at 4 p.m. According to a press release,the opera, titled “Nebuchadnezzar,” is “based on the biblical story of the BabylonianKing from the Book of Daniel” and “recounts Nebuchadnezzar’s transition fromwicked, imperious, self-declared ruler to a true believer who finds salvationin his faith.”
The opera will be directedby Vanessa Beecroft and feature West’s Sunday Service collective, singer PeterCollins and the group Infinity’s Song.
“West conceived of this opera as anexpression of his commitment to both his faith and ever expanding musicalpalette,” the press release stated. “Nebuchadnezzar brings together elementsfrom different worlds, including opera, fine art, modern dance, and gospelmusic, to create an innovative performance structure. West’s sound is the bridgebetween these artforms.”
While questions around theauthenticity of West’s entire project have split the blackand Christian communities, this opera in particular should beraising more eyebrows because of what Nebuchadnezzar did to Jews: He destroyedthe First Temple and initiated the Babylonian exile.
Here’sthe back story: In 588 B.C.E., Zedekiah, the last ruler of the Kingdom ofJudah, attempted to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar retaliated by laying siege to Jerusalem, starving out the Jewsfor two years. In 586, the Babylonian army burned down the city, including theFirst Temple. Nebuchadnezzar enslaved the surviving Jews.
It’sone of the bloodiest episodes in Jewish history, remembered each year on thefast day of Tisha B’Av, which also marksthe end of a three-week periodof mourning tied to the destruction of both the First andSecond Temples, as well as other calamities to befall the Jewish people. It’s asomber time during which observant Jews traditionally abstain fromcelebrations and other joyful activities.
Westhas likely become enamored with Nebuchadnezzar for less sinister reasons. Therapper, who was diagnosed as bipolar in late 2016 and went through a nervous breakdown beforediscovering his newfound religiosity, has claimed in interviews thatNebuchadnezzar also was bipolar and similarly found his faith following anepisode of mental illness. Some scholars say theBabylonian believed at one point that he had turned into an ox.
“Hewas driven away from people and ate grass like the ox,” states the Book of Daniel (4:33-7). “His body wasdrenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagleand his nails like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I,Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. ThenI praised the Most High.”
Despitethat positive narrative from the Nebuchadnezzar storyline, and whateverinspiration West may have taken from it, the bloody history remains. West mightwant to check on the specifics of whom he’s praising these days.
Gabe Friedmanwrites for the JTA global news source.
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