Kanye West (Feat. Clipse & Kenny G) – Use This Gospel

This is a second request received to review part of Kanye West’s recent album JESUS IS KING.  In light of his controversial past and media frenzy surrounding this album, I feel obligated to review at least two of his songs ASAP.

My review of Use This Gospel will follow the same assumptions and grace as Selah.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Kanye-west-use-this-gospel-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Christians put their faith in the Father, following the narrow way to life.  He is the king of kings, blesses His children, and sends angels to take charge over us.  Nobody is greater than God!

In contrast, mankind is afraid of getting caught in sin.  We hurt others for selfish gain.  Some fake Christianity, which will be tested by fruit inspection.  Yet, we shall not hypocritically judge.  They are glad that they left the old life of sin, embracing Christ, praying for those who lose their faith.

Score: 9/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Almost all of it agree with the Bible, with an unclear usage of “Gospel” in line 1.

[Intro]

Lines 1-4: A call to Casper the friendly ghost.

[Chorus]

Line 1: How does one use the good news that Christ paid for sins as protection?  That doesn’t make sense to me.  The Scriptures teach that God is our protector (Ruth 2:12, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 5:11, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 32:7, Psalm 34:22, Psalm 41:2, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 57:1, Psalm 59:1, Psalm 61:3, Psalm 91:1-16, Psalm 118:8, Psalm 121:7-8, Psalm 138:7, Proverbs 18:10, Proverbs 30:5, Nahum 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, and 1 John 5:18) and to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), but not Gospel as defense.

Line 2: Certainly following Jesus is the road less travelled (Matthew 7:13-14).

Line 3: At best, this is a request for God to bear fruit in West’s life (Matthew 5:16, John 15:1-11, 1 Corinthians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4:1, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Colossians 1:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:17, 1 Timothy 2:10, 1 Timothy 6:18, 2 Timothy 2:21, 2 Timothy 3:17, Titus 2:7, Titus 2:14, Titus 3:1, Titus 3:8, Titus 3:14, Hebrews 10:19-25, 1 Peter 2:12, 1 John 1:7, and 1 John 2:6).  At worst, it is a selfish petition for wealth, contrary to Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13, and 1 Timothy 6:10.  The difference is motive, and I cannot judge West’s motives.  Therefore, I will not dock points for this section.

Line 4: That is, we trust in God (1 Corinthians 16:13, 2 Corinthians 1:24, Ephesians 6:11, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 4:1, Colossians 1:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14, Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 6:11, Hebrews 10:23, and 1 Peter 5:9).

Line 5: That is, king of kings (Deuteronomy 10:17, Psalm 136:3, Daniel 2:47, Matthew 28:18, 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 1:5, and Revelation 19:16).

Line 6: They believe, but shutter (James 2:19).

Line 7: God gives angels charge over us (Psalm 91:11).

Line 8: Repeats line 4.

[Post-Chorus]

Lines 1 and  2: Casper’s encore.

[Verse 1]

Line 1: Great question:  The answer, of course, is He cannot (Deuteronomy 10:17, Psalm 8:3–4, Psalm 147:5, Job 26:14, Isaiah 40:28, and Isaiah 55:8–9).

Line 2: An admission of fear if the “good guys” raid a drug operation.

Line 3-5: Often used for birthdays, Pusha T expresses a goodbye to his old life and embraces Christ (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

Lines 6 and 7: The test for genuine faith is fruit that is in keeping with repentence (Matthew 3:8).  See the “at best” commentary for Chorus, line 3.

Line 8: Caution expressed to avoid hypocritical judging (Matthew 7:1-5 and Romans 2:1).

[Verse 2]

Line 1a: This is because all have broken God’s laws (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Romans 3:10-18, and Romans 3:23).

Lines 1b and 2: No Malice admits to his involvement in causing others to sin through his drug dealing.  He deserves a millstone around his neck and knows it (Matthew 18:6 and Mark 9:42).

Lines 3 and 4: Drug dealers often use celebrity names as a cover for their actions, which includes singer and songwriter Barry Manilows.  No Malice was caught and put in prison, where people act differently than outside prison walls.

Line 5: No Malice found forgiveness in Christ, calling upon His name (Romans 10:9-13).

Line 6: Contrasts worldly utterances of wealth with No Malice’s proclamation of Christ.

Line 7: No Malice walks by faith, not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Line 8: A great reference to the body of Christ, who prays for those who lose faith (Matthew 5:43-48).

[Outro]

Lines 1-8: A final call to Casper, combined with a confusing repeated word “work”.  It seems to me meaningless filler, which will not affect my score in this section.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

It seems obvious that West’s intended audience is unbelievers.  With that in mind, I think most of them will get most of it, though they might take the wrong idea behind blessings and be confused about the Gospel as protection.  Little of its language is Christianese, opting for a more down-to-earth approach.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through an honest description of life before and after knowing Christ, declaring Him as king; However, its issues described in other sections slightly veils it.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

Kanye West’s Use This Gospel is a pretty good song, though with an unfortunate title.  It describes the Father as the greatest being in existence in whom Christians place their faith, leaving behind a worthless life of self.  Though it contains some minor issues surrounding the use of Gospel as defense and possible misuse of request for blessings, unbelievers will find the core of West’s message easy to comprehend, giving glory to God.

It might be worth submitting this song to a Kanye West fan that you personally have a relationship, with the understanding that you might have to correct a few things.  However, I cannot recommend this for worship.  This song is an evangelistic tool, not a praise a worship session.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Use This Gospel (listen to the song)

Artist: Kanye West (Feat. Clipse & Kenny G)

Album: JESUS IS KING

Genre: Hip Hop/Rap

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 3:33

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates: 

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  I slightly increased section 1’s score, raising its overall rating from 8.5/10 to 9/10.