Is hip-hop just a euphemism for a new religion? Is Kanye West the Jesus of that religion? Who knows, but an LA street artist has grabbed attention just in time for Easter with a depiction of Kanye as Jesus on the cross. Now we can all see Kanye as he sees himself.
The piece showed up on Good Friday – not to be confused with G.O.O.D Friday, which used to feature new releases from artists on Kanye’s label – and it shows Kanye West striking the Jesus pose. With Kanye decked out in just some red Converses – not Air Yeezys or Kanye x Adidas kicks , though – a gold chain, and a waist cloth, the mural asks whether the outspoken rapper is “the new Messiah” or not. The street artist did not, though, go the extra mile and put a Jesus piece onto Kanye’s chain in the Kanye-as-Jesus piece. That might have been too meta.
As Hip-Hop Wired notes, the mural features no signature by the artist or any other sort of tag. Apparently, it just appeared on a wall, much in the way the other Jesus’ face appears on slices of toast, eucharist wafers, three-cheese pizzas, original Nintendo consoles, frying pans, and air-dried socks. Miracles, all, and so we must add this latest apparition of Yeezus to the growing list of support for Kanye West’s canonization. Mr. West’s greatest miracle to date: getting people to forget 808s & Heartbreak .
Kanye has continually mentioned God, Jesus, and other gods throughout his musical career, with one of his earliest hits being the track “Jesus Walks,” off of The College Dropout . More recently, Kanye released Yeezus, which had West proclaiming on one track “I am a god… hurry up with my damn croissants.”
Kanye’s own comfort with deific namedropping has bled over into coverage of the rap artist, as well. This Los Angeles street art miracle isn’t the first to depict West as Jesus. A Rolling Stone cover from 2006 did largely the same thing, with a battered Kanye sporting a crown of thorns.
Of course, Kanye as Jesus comes bundled with Kim Kardashian as, say, Mary Magdalene? Considering the two polarizing celebs’ forthcoming nuptials, a Gospel of Yeezus’ Wife could be just the sort of thing to round out the comparison. Then again, Kim’s ongoing reality show could serve as a latter day gospel, perhaps. John Legend, though, has advised Kanye against putting too much of the relationship between him and his wife onto the screen. Overexposure could lead to a backlash against West – imagine that, considering how polarizing Kanye is already – and he could eventually get crucified in the media. See what we did there?