Indio, California - After a Saturday at Coachella capped
by an after-midnight cameo at Gucci Mane's Sahara tent set, rapper
Kanye West awakened early - or, just as likely, never went to bed -
to celebrate Easter with a Sunday service.
In recent months the chart-topping artist had been leading family
friends and celebrities in a closely guarded, weekly
gospel-music-focused spiritual service at the Calabasas home he
shares with his wife, Kim Kardashian, and their children.
Sunday's public Coachella version, which was also live-streamed, was
the first morning performance in the festival's 20-year history, and
West made the most of it. With a 100-singer-strong gospel choir, a
band with a dozen percussionists, a harpist, bassist, the occasional
Roland beatbox, and, most important, a church organ, the
controversial artist celebrated Jesus' resurrection with a full-on
gospel celebration.
Thousands of Coachella attendees, including celebrities Childish
Gambino, Jaden and Willow Smith, Idris Elba, Lizzo and the entire
Kardashian clan, set their alarms for West's "Yeaster" service, a
testament to his continued creative vibrancy and tabloid star power.
. @DMX preaching at Kanye West’s #SundayService🙏🏽 #Coachella pic.twitter.com/cENZrks8ok
— Big Boy (@BigBoy) April 21, 2019
"If it wasn't for Kanye, I don't think anyone would be here this
early," said Kyle Garcia of Chino Hills. He saw West at the Sahara
tent eight hours earlier, and rather than go to sleep he just stayed
up.
The artist, who last year in a meeting with President Donald Trump
wore a Make American Great Again hat while telling him that it "made
me feel like Superman," didn't utter the president's name on Sunday.
Rather, he, a preacher, singers and dancers renewed their allegiance
to Jesus with a fervent display of worship.
"I didn't see it coming," Taylor Scott, 25, said. "I was prepared to
put Easter on the back burner for Coachella, but Kanye kind of
brought it here."
Even skeptics know that West's turn toward God isn't manufactured.
He's long wrestled with religion and sought solace in spirituality,
most famously in 2004's "Jesus Walks," which he exuberantly performed
near the end of the service.
Dope moment when @KanyeWest performed his classic hit 'All Falls Down' on top of the mountain live at #Coachella #SundayService pic.twitter.com/JUQ9msSwfe
— GDE (@GlobalDanceElec) April 21, 2019
As he told Vibe magazine in 2009, "I just think God has put me in a
really good space. And I think he has a mission for me. There's gonna
be ups and downs. But it's something that he wants me to deliver to
the world."
On Sunday, he did it while perched atop a two-tiered, sod-covered
mound and surrounded by a drum circle. Across more than two hours,
the band worked atop the hill as dozens of singers danced and moved
in circles around them, overtaken by the musical spirit.
Reborn live at Coachella - Kanye West and Kid Cudi pic.twitter.com/E3LphteVXj
— (Charlie Heat Version) (@YESEEGHOSTS) April 21, 2019
Near the conclusion, fellow Chicago rapper-entrepreneur Chance the
Rapper ascended the mound to perform "Ultralight Beam," a glorious
celebration of life that seemed to lift the emotions of the
well-traveled visitors.
Scott said she was feeling a little guilty for missing her Easter
program back home in LA. Waiting in a long line to buy exclusive
"Sunday Service" West merchandise, she found it "crazy how he could
bring so many people together, especially on an Easter service."
Calling herself "very religious," Scott said, "I felt bad that I was
going to miss out on a service, but Kanye actually brought it to
Coachella. It's strange to think that that's possible - gospel to
Coachella. But if anybody can do it, it's Kanye."