In case you hadn’t noticed, Kanye West has found Jesus. What started as his Sunday Services has now amounted to a new album, Jesus is King. Speaking in an interview with Zayne Lowe last week, West said his job was to spread the gospel. A noble proposition I suppose, but in the world of Yeezus, Christianity comes at a price.
Already dropping merch for his Sunday Service at Coachella earlier this year, this collection follows on from his highly anticipated (and not entirely well-received) album release last Friday. Made in collaboration with the creative agency founded by A$AP Rocky and the A$AP Mob AWGE, the pieces all embody West’s newfound religious freedom. Costing upwards of $260, items are embossed with images of Christ, biblical verses, and West’s own lyrics.
Although there are some more subdued pieces, such as sweatsuits detailed with the album’s name, other designs seem to be slightly more experimental. Up for offer are: a pull-over featuring three different images of Christ, all centring around West’s own name styled in rainbow WordArt; a t-shirt featuring a drawing of Jesus surrounded by lightning bolts, reminiscent of an early 2010s Pepe meme; a dirty-looking sock, and cap embossed with the words Sunday Service, which feels more like an FBI uniform than a religious item.
It seems like the creative team were somewhat overwhelmed with all the religious imagery they came across. A black Jesus with his hands tied together with rope is featured alongside a more Western-looking depiction of Christ wearing a crown of thorns.
The pieces are executed with some... artistic flair, let's say. And although West's intention was to spread the word of God, for some it seems to be having the opposite effect. “This made me even more atheist,” wrote one Twitter user, with another calling the collection ‘blasphemous’.