Kirk Franklin Has Greater Purpose in Working With Kanye West
Gospel pioneer Kirk Franklin has been getting a lot of flack for his involvement in Kanye West's latest album The Life of Pablo. In a recent interview, Franklin confessed that working with the rapper is really a mission that has a bigger purpose.
In an Instagram post put up shortly after West featured Franklin on his SNL performance, Franklin addressed those who were judging him for working with the Grammy Award winning rapper. See Franklin full post below:
Kanye is not me. I am not him. He is my brother I am proud to do life with. No sprints, but Marathons; like most of us are on. 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. That my friend is religious. I will not turn my back on my brother. 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.
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West's new single, "Ultralight Beams," features Franklin, Crystal Lewis, Anthony Evans, and other gospel artists. In a recent interview with Djbooth.Net, Franklin talked about why he believes it was important for him to be involved in the mainstream album.
"Music for me should be more like a mission. I don't work with an artist to try to blow up, but to see if the music can be medicine, if it can be therapeutic and serve a bigger purpose," Franklin said. "Christian music, gospel music, sometimes you'll fall asleep at church but music wakes you up, the song can speak to you in a way that's puts a fire in you. So if I'm working with a mainstream artist I'm trying to find a bigger purpose. As a Christian I'm trying to shine the brighter light."
When asked about West's first major hit single, "Jesus Walks." the "Stomp" singer confessed that he was "mad" because he wished he had thought of it.
"Why didn't God give that to me? I love that record, I wanted it to be my record," Franklin stated.
"Whether it's Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole or Common there are a lot of artists, especially rappers, who come from a background with a faith-based substance, and it's time for that substance to be celebrated and appreciated," Franklin continued.
West must have figured that no gospel album is complete without a feature from Franklin. The father of two labeled his new release a "gospel album with a lot of cursing."
The name of the album has gone from So Help Me God, to Swish, to Waves but finally he settled down with the title, The Life of Pablo.
"You know this album is really a gospel album and the first song 'Ultra Light Beams' said 'this is a God dream' — and this is something, like all y'all 20,000 people here right now, that couldn't happen without God really holding me down," West recently told a packed audience in Madison Square Garden according to E-News.
