JGivens is a Christian hip-hop artist, whose music i enjoy. 8 or 9 years ago he made a record he called an 'intercession mix tape' - one of the tracks from it, i posted up there. that album samples heavily from Kanye's popular songs at the time, re-writing them to be about Christ. the example i posted is the same melody and music that Kanye sings "no one man should have so much power" ((himself)) --JGivens turns that into "I know One Man who has so much power" ((Jesus Christ))
from start to finish in that whole album Givens keeps telling the listener to keep praying for Kanye. also to keep praying for each other, to be faithful in it.
Kanye didn't just suddenly turn to Christianity. he made confessions of faith early in his career & included songs on his albums clearly lifting up Christ & expressing belief in the gospel. and he got more and more famous and rich, and he spoke less and less about Jesus - in the public eye anyway - and, as far as TV cameras etc showed us, backslid into following all kinds of lusts as he amassed all kinds of worldly riches and power for his music.
so what JGivens was doing by that record was encouraging us not to write people off who at one time believed and tried to walk in the Lord. to keep praying for them, keep lifting them up to God, asking the Lord to strengthen them and bring them back to Himself. he compares him to the prodigal son - one of the songs on the intercession mixtape is word for word, Givens reading that parable to us.
so, i don't know Kanye, i've never listened to his music, i don't keep up with pop music or culture. but i know, this is a guy who was a believer, who got rich and famous, and fell away. i should pray for him, that he return to Savior he first loved. Givens put out a whole album dedicated to that premise, years ago, long before Kanye's new album. and i think that is a beautiful, spiritually inspired thing for him to have done.
Givens gives that album away free, here:
https://jgivens.bandcamp.com/album/keeppraying4-kanyewest-mixtape
That's cool.
I'm not really into hip hop but I listen to Shai Linne's songs and the lyrics. They just aren't quite my genre though. I'm 56 so I'm not in the hip hop generation I guess. I don't mind it that younger Christians enjoy a different genre, though.
I like Vertical Church Band (from a while back; not the current one), Tenth Avenue North, Newsboys, Rich Mullins, Steven Curtis Chapman, Wes King, Rend Collective, Phil Keaggy, Phil Wickham, Jeremy Camp.
Usually I like powerful male voices that have Scriptural lyrics and move fairly quickly...I am not usually into slow sentimental music but I am not totally turned off by some of those types of songs either.
I will listen to Elevation Worship and some others who are associated with ministries I don't care for, such as Steven Furtick and Andy Stanley, but I don't think those particular songs violate Scriptural teachings.
Lately this is my favorite song:
The artists transformed an old hymn from the songbook of his grandmother into this song, if I remember right.