On Friday, rap megastar and fashion mogul Kanye West released a short trailer for his upcoming IMAX film Jesus Is King.
To the strains of a choir, the trailer zooms in on the stairs of James Turrell’s famous Arizona artwork, the Roden Crater, a project to which West donated $10 million to finish.
Artist Turrell turned the crater in Arizona’s Painted Desert into a sanctuary and celestial observatory with 21 viewing spaces connected by six tunnels. The site is managed by Arizona State University.
West’s new film was directed by Nick Knight and is reportedly a companion to an as-yet-unreleased album.
The Grammy-winner’s fans were alerted last month to a forthcoming album after a tweet by his wife, Kim Kardashian West.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 29, 2019
The new film is an outgrowth of West’s now famous Sunday Services, which the rapper began hosting earlier this year. In September, for instance, West was visibly moved as he welcomed fellow Chicago crooner Chance The Rapper to an outdoor Sunday Service held in their hometown.
Kanye West is seen standing on stage in the video with his head in the palm of one hand, as a choir sings the lyrics to his song, “Ultralight Beam.”
West has crisscrossed the country holding his Sunday Service for free for fans. He has appeared in California, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, and many others.
“Kanye started this, I think, just to heal himself,” said the rapper’s wife. “It was a real personal thing, and it was just friends and family, and he has had an amazing evolution of being born again and being saved by Christ.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.