With fans anxiously waiting for the Jesus Is King album to drop and the Jesus Is King film arriving in theaters tonight (Oct. 25), Kanye West sat down with Zane Lowe for Beats 1 to discuss his projects and more.
Among the almost two-hour interview, which took place in Wyoming, Kanye discussed previous addictions to pornography and sex, running for president in 2024, his Sunday Services, relationship with Drake and JAY-Z and more.
Ye also announced the follow-up to his Jesus Is King album will arrive very soon. He plans to drop a Sunday Service album titled Jesus Is Born on Dec. 25.
”I will continue to be used by God. I don’t love suffering. No one loves pain but I’m still, through the good times and the suffering, I praise God because I experience the blessings and I also experience the lessons,” he told Lowe. “I’m just so blessed for everything that I’ve been through. To be standing here 15 years in, be making an album with the work, the paintings still are inspiring to me. Where I still want to listen. Music is my job that’s why I’m putting out the album. Serving God is my job, that’s why I’m here.”
Ye also revealed a surprising technique he put into play while recording Jesus Is King—insisting that his collaborators abstain from premarital sex.
“I was asking people to… this is gonna be radical what I’m about to say. There were times where I was asking people to not have premarital sex while they were working,” he said. “I know that’s one where ‘The Shade Room’ gonna be like, ‘What you mean don’t have premarital sex?! You better turn that Meg Thee Stallion on right now!’ But seriously, there’s times where I went to people that were working on other projects and said, ‘Could you just work and focus on this?’”
As for Ye’s relationship with Drizzy, he says his newfound Christianity has made him appreciate their beef with a new sense of humor and that, ultimately, he hopes to put their issues behind them.
“God is funny. Drake literally lives four blocks down the street from me. That shows God has a sense of humor cause we had a rivalry,” he said. “You cannot be in service to God and be mad at your brother. I go to Drake’s house, walk over there with no security, ‘Here’s my phone number.’ I’m not trying to ring [the] doorbell. He might be busy.”
“Me and Drake had the disagreement and he refused to talk to me for 6 months,” Yeezy continued. “That was so painful because expressing yourself is a form of therapy for people with mental health.”
Kanye also delved into his relationship with JAY-Z, which he says has changed over the years.
“This person is your idol. Then you get to know ’em, then you be friends, then you turn to frenemies, then you turn to enemies,” he shared. “Then you gotta bring back the positive energy. But that is the lineage of rap kings and inspirers.”
Jesus Is King was set to arrive Friday (Oct. 25), however the midnight release date has already been missed.
Check out Kanye’s entire interview for Apple Music’s Beats 1 below.