Jesus Walks
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"Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album '' The College Dropout'' (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its compelling sonic atmosphere and boldness in its open embrace of faith. It was met by widespread commercial success, peaking at No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and becoming West's fourth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United States. The single was accompanied by three separate
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s, each of which visually interpreted a portion of its multifaceted context in different ways. "Jesus Walks" continues to be a crowd favorite and stands as one of the most-performed songs by West, who has included it within all of his headlining tours. At the 47th Grammy Awards, "Jesus Walks" was awarded the
Grammy Award for Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...
, and received a nomination for Song of the Year. Various publications placed the song on several year and decade-end lists, and have since listed it among the greatest of all time. The song was named the sixth-best song of 2004 on Village Voice's
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
critics poll. ''
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'' listed it at No. 123 on its list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2000s, while ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' placed it at No. 69 on its list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" in October 2014. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' named the song No. 19 on their list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2000s, and later placed it at No. 273 on its 2010 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.


Background

The song is essentially a spiritual exultation, wherein West discusses how
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
"walks" with all manner of people, from the sinner to the saint. Towards this end, the first conceptual verse of the song is told through the eyes of a
drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...
contemplating his relationship with God. It reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse. West also uses the song to express his critical views on how the
media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
seem to shy away from songs that address matters of faith, while embracing songs discussing
violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
, sex, and illegal drugs. He rhymes, ''"So here go my single, dawg, radio needs this/They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes/But if I talk about God my record won't get played, huh?"'' This is directly taken from West's experiences when he was struggling to get signed onto a record label; many executives turned him down after he played a demo of the song for them. They reasoned that he did not conform to the stereotypes associated with mainstream hip-hop and therefore was not easily marketable. Many of his friends in the music industry also warned him that while the song was outstanding, it would never make it to radio.


Composition

"Jesus Walks" is a mid-tempo hip-hop song. It is set in common time with a moderate
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 87
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
and composed in the key of E-flat minor. The song expresses a pulsating
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
reminiscent to that of a marching band. The rhythm is accompanied by background vocal samples from the ARC Choir's arrangement of the traditional
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
song "Walk With Me" that emit a chant in cadence to the beat. Because of these elements, the composition has been widely described as evoking a militaristic atmosphere. The song begins with a medium tempo followed by its backing vocals and choral arrangement. After West's brief opening dialog, a drumroll sounds and the track's titular
hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
is belted by the ARC (Addicts Rehabilitation Center) choir and coupled with the chorus. Meanwhile, the song's
melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
is laced with auto-tune-processed
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
wails. Over time the song amasses itself, exhibiting multi-tracked
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
flourishes and momentary vocal solos, gradually growing in intensity before peaking and immediately dissipating. The song repeats this process several times until it fades away completely at its conclusion. The militant soundscape of "Jesus Walks" is complemented by its lyrical nuances. In the intro, the voice of a drill sergeant initiates the song with an "''Order Arms''" and is answered by a squad of soldiers who shout "1-2-3-4!" This exchange is followed by West's opening lines, where he declares, "we are at war with ourselves." West retains a considerable amount of dynamics in his rap delivery, as his flow features constant shifts in cadence, pitch, and
volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...
over the simplistic rhythm. During the chorus, his voice builds in intensity in conjunction with the similarly swelling track, and peaks and fades away just before it follows suit. He also employs various
rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...
s and phrasal techniques, at one point even using a call-and-response pattern.


Critical reception

The single received universal acclaim from critics for its open embracement of faith in the face of the oft-secular music industry, with many expressing their astonishment that such an overtly religious song was embraced by radio. In a review of '' The College Dropout'', '' Village Voice'' characterized the song as a "desperate masterpiece."
Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
music reviewer Josh Love cited "Jesus Walks" as the best song on the entire album, saying "Kanye makes his spiritual toil sound like triumph thanks to martial drums and a little gospel choir fervor, sounding a clarion call of salvation to all would-be doubters and haters. He swears that he's not trying to 'convert atheists into believers,' but listening to ''The College Dropout'' might just convince you that Kanye West is the Second City's Second Coming." '' The Los Angeles Times'' similarly considered "Jesus Walks" to be the highlight of the album, stating, "Its pulsating drums serve as the perfect backing for West's reflections on his own mistakes as well as hip-hop's tendency to focus on negative subject matter."
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
, which hailed "Jesus Walks" as the year's best single, listed the song as one of the primary tracks which exemplified the thoughtfulness and scholastic complexity inherent of ''The College Dropout'' as a whole, commenting that, "On 'Jesus Walks' Kanye proclaims his devotion to
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
as seriously as the most devotional hymn singer would, while illustrating the way he falls in and out of what he perceives as the good path to follow. 'I wanna talk to
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
but I'm afraid cause we ain't spoke in so long,' he confesses, but then he goes ahead and asks us all to join him in that conversation, to push the song onto radio and push the divine into the heart of public dialogue. Extra dimensions are added to the song by the intense, cinematic presence it has, with all of the drama of a gangster film's climactic scenes, and by a Curtis Mayfield drop that makes the song ripe for a study of intertextuality." Alongside its subject matter, the production quality of the track received equal acclaim, with Garry Mulholland of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' chronicling it as " towering inferno of martial beats, fathoms-deep chain gang backing chants, a defiant children's choir, gospel wails, and sizzling orchestral breaks." Kelefa Sanneh of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', who classified "Jesus Walks" as a gospel song, concurred with this sentiment, describing the song's choral arrangement as "clever". '' Blender'' likened the beat of the song to a "phantom marching army", and ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' testified that the "lush, intricate" production of the track gave off an "uplifting" presence. ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine critic Josh Tyrangiel declared "Jesus Walks" as "one of those miraculous songs that you hear for the first time and immediately look forward to hearing on a semiregular basis for the next 30 or 40 years." Sasha Frere-Jones of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' asserted that the song, "sounds simultaneously like V-Day and like a funeral" and concluded his review stating, "In a different year, 'Jesus Walks' might register as an eccentric's conflation of faith, commerce, and war. In 2004, it's a popular state of consciousness."


Accolades

"Jesus Walks" was praised as one of the best songs of the year by numerous publications, including '' Blender'', ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', and '' Village Voice''. The song received a nomination for Outstanding Song as well as Outstanding Music Video at the 36th NAACP Image Awards. At the Grammy Awards of 2005, "Jesus Walks" was nominated for Song of the Year, one of ten total nominations West received for that year alone. West, Rhymefest and Miri Ben-Ari won the
Grammy Award for Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...
for co-writing the song's lyrics and violin arrangements respectively. The music video won the 2005 MTV Video Music Award for best male video while West also received a nomination for Best Gospel Artist for "Jesus Walks" at the 2005
BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...
, although he was not an actual gospel musician. As a result of the significance and impact of "Jesus Walks", in August, ''The College Dropout'' was nominated for several gospel
Stellar Awards A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stel ...
, including Best Gospel Rap Album. However, the awards committees determined that the secular album was ineligible and subsequently withdrew the ballot. West surmised that the fact that they recognized the song in the first place demonstrated its impact, and said the song and its message was not meant for the evangelical audience, but for "... the people that I think God is really trying to reach." He also clarified his views on religion, saying, "Religion just means that you do something over and over. I will say that I'm spiritual. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. And I will say that I fall short every day." Kanye later claimed that when his father heard the song, he said, "Maybe you missed your calling." To which West replied, "No, maybe this is my calling. I reach more people than any one pastor can." In retrospect, West maintained that while he was surprised by the accolades the song received, he had long predicted the radio success of "Jesus Walks". For him, it was all just a matter of attaining airplay, saying, "It was never a problem once it came out. All I did was use
reverse psychology Reverse psychology is a technique involving the assertion of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what is actually desired. This techn ...
. It was a way of calling out people who didn't want to play it without pointing fingers at anybody." The song was named the sixth best song of 2004 on Village Voice's
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
critics poll. "Jesus Walks" was ranked number 273 ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
's'' list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. ''Rolling Stone'' also named the song number 19 on their list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s. BET named it the second best song of the 2000s. In October 2011, ''NME'' placed it at number 69 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2012, '' Consequence'' named it the 89th Greatest song of all time. In January 2013, BBC Radio 6 Music readers voted for it as the 88th greatest song released in 6 Music's lifetime. In 2017, Rolling Stone placed it 32 in its list of Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of all time.


Commercial performance

"Jesus Walks" appeared on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 74 on the issue dated February 21. After sixth months, the track peaked at No. 2 for the issue dated August 14 and maintained the position for two weeks. "Jesus Walks" first came in at No. 25 on
Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...
for the issue dated April 17. On the issue date of August 7, the song peaked at No. 3. Despite all prior disapproval, "Jesus Walks" came to be one of West's biggest hits. The single was the highest debut on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Hot 100 for the week of its first appearance, entering the chart at No. 68 on April 29, 2004. Over the next eight weeks, the song climbed up the chart until it eventually reached No. 16 for the issue dated July 3, where it remained for four weeks. On the issue dated July 24, the song climbed up two places to reach the fourteenth position. "Jesus Walks" reached its overall peak at No. 11 on the issue date of July 31, where it stayed for two weeks in a row. "Jesus Walks" has since been awarded a triple platinum certification by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
for pushing 3,000,000 certified units in the US. "Jesus Walks" attained a certain extent of international success as well. In
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the song peaked at No. 18 on September 2, 2004, where it remained for two weeks. The song's highest debut occurred in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, where it entered at its peak position of sixteen on September 5, becoming West's third top-twenty hit. On March 14, 2005, the song debuted in the
Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
at No. 37.


Music videos

In total, three separate music videos were made for "Jesus Walks," with the second and third financed by West himself out-of-pocket. All three were premiered on June 21, 2004, at TriBeCa Cinemas, where West explained, "That song evokes so much emotion, and four minutes of imagery limits the ideas that you're supposed to give for the songs, so I had to do three." West had originally wanted Hype Williams to direct the first version of "Jesus Walks" but decided not to because he had heard that
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
was thinking about enlisting Williams for " 99 Problems." Instead, West went with Michael Haussman for the music video, which was filmed in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and budgeted at $650,000. In the video, West is portrayed as a preacher rapping before a congregation from a pulpit while angels guide a prostitute, an alcoholic, and a drug dealer to his
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
church. West was not satisfied with the music video and convinced then-label head Dame Dash to commission another, this time for $500,000. The second version was directed by Chris Milk and takes place in the deep South. The core concept behind the video, which Milk described as his most complex narrative, was to take various deplorable characters and merge them with biblical iconography in order convey the message that
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
is with them. The secondary objective was to display the duality of man. The video stands as the most metaphorical of the three, as it features West rapping in a hallway which is filled alternately with hellish flames and angelic light, in conjunction with footage of drug traffickers being pursued through a barren desert by police, prison camp inmates battling with guards, and a
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
sman setting himself on fire while carrying a burning cross up a mountain. The video was named as one of the best of the 2000s decade by Dugald Baird of
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
. The final version of "Jesus Walks" was filmed in West's hometown of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and co-directed by himself with Coodie & Chike (Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah of Channel Zero). Filmed guerrilla-style within the course of one day at a budget of $40,000, the third version was the least expensive of the three. It depicts
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
in the modern day, literally walking beside the protagonist as he travels from his home to church, performing miracles along the way. The video premiered on MTV.com on June 23, 2004. The music video received several wins and nominations; It earned two nominations at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year and Best Male Video, winning the later. It won Video of the Year at the 2005 BET Awards. The music video earned two nominations for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan. "Jesus Walks" was nominated for Best International Video at the 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards. The music video received three nominations at the 2005 Music Video Production Awards, for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Hip-Hop Video. At the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards "Jesus Walks" was nominated for Video of the Year. The video earned a nomination for Outstanding Music Video at the 2005 NAACP Image Awards.


Live performances

Thanks to its fervid sound and widespread popularity, "Jesus Walks" has since become a crowd favorite and Kanye West has performed it on numerous occasions around the globe. West included the song within the set list of his ''School Spirit Tour'' that took place in early 2004. An early live performance of the song occurred in his hometown of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
at a concert with Dilated Peoples held in the House of Blues on May 5, 2004. West provided a performance of "Jesus Walks" for the opening of the 2004
BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...
, in which he stood behind a pulpit and was accompanied by a
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
, drumline and
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
singer Yolanda Adams. While serving as the opening act for Usher's ''The Truth Tour'', West performed "Jesus Walks" as his finale. West opened the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards with a theatrical performance of "Jesus Walks." He led a 32-member choir around an arena filled with audience members holding artificial candles and had
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows descend from the ceiling as he joined
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
, Chaka Khan, and Syleena Johnson onstage. During his appearance at Dave Chapelle's Block Party in September, West performed "Jesus Walks" accompanied by a Central State University marching band. He provided a performance of "Jesus Walks" during his brief appearance at
Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on November 24. West performed "Jesus Walks" at the 47th Grammy Awards ceremony just prior to his receipt of the award for Best Rap Album. This performance, which featured West's mother Donda West, was joined in a sequence with Mavis Staples and
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
's rendition of "
I'll Take You There "I'll Take You There" is a song written by Al Bell (using his real name Alvertis Isbell), and originally performed by soul music, soul/gospel music, gospel family band the Staple Singers. The Staple Singers version, produced by Bell, was releas ...
" and a performance of " I'll Fly Away" by the Blind Boys of Alabama. At the conclusion, the performers encircled and covered West, who eventually emerged donning an all-white suit with large angelic wings. That July, West played the song during his set at a
Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...
show held in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
's Museum of Art, where he was backed by an eleven-piece female string orchestra decked out in black masks and garments. As he played,
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
and DJ Jazzy Jeff danced to the song backstage. Accompanied by a seventeen-piece, all-female string orchestra, West performed "Jesus Walks" live for an exclusive concert held at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
in
London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on September 21. The performance was recorded and later released on a
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
entitled '' Late Orchestration''. West included "Jesus Walks" within the setlist of his '' Touch the Sky Tour'' that took place in late 2005. He performed the song at Santa Monica High School for a concert promoting higher education sponsored by his charity foundation. Wearing a
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
jacket, West performed the song for a pre-game concert held during VH1's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash on February 2, 2006. He played "Jesus Walks" near the end of his concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on February 12. The following week, West performed the song once again at the
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
MEN Arena with DJ A-Trak, two backing vocalists, a nine-piece female string orchestra and a harpist. The performance concluded by displaying an image of the Cristo de la Concordia on a gigantic monitor. West played "Jesus Walks" during his appearance at the first day of Coachella 2006 in
Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. Indio is approximately east of Los Angeles, east of Palm Springs, ...
, where he later on had A-Trak spin
A-Ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...
's " Take On Me" while he danced onstage to the delight of the audience. On June 22, West performed the song while attending a benefit held in New York staged for the non-profit Foundation for AIDS Research. Kanye provided a performance of the song during his set at Live Earth 2007, before joining The Police and
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...
onstage to perform " Message in a Bottle" for the concert's finale. West performed "Jesus Walks" live for the Concert for Diana held at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
on July 1, 2007, to a crowd of over 63,000 people. An estimated 500 million people watched the event in over 140 countries worldwide. The very next day, West performed the song as the finale of his gig at the Manchester Apollo for the
Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first takin ...
. "Jesus Walks" was included within the setlist of West's conceptual '' Glow in the Dark Tour'' that first took off in late 2007. During the concert, an LCD screen seated behind him displayed a skyline filled with lightning bolts while fumes billowed from the stage on the hook. That August, West played "Jesus Walks" at the Exdo Event Center in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
for a private show at held for
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
's humanitarian organization
ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
. West gave a performance of "Jesus Walks" before an audience of 3,000 students during his free Stay In School benefit concert at
Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark Theater (structure), theater located on North State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop, Chicago, Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 19 ...
on July 11, 2009. He performed the song in
Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a , historic Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Parks of London, Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington P ...
while headlining the second and final day of the 2009 Wireless Festival.


Legacy and impact

"Jesus Walks" has been credited with helping to abate the antagonistic gap that once separated mainstream rap music and the religious church. Since then, countless ministries began to embrace hip hop and incorporate the musical genre into their gospel services. In her biographical book, Kanye's mother Donda West recalled an instance where over three hundred adolescents “gave their lives to
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
” the night her son performed the song at a youth revival center.
Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), also commonly known by his stage name DMC (or D.M.C.), is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of the Hip-hop, hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers ...
of the groundbreaking hip hop group Run-DMC told ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine that he had grown indifferent towards contemporary rap music and ceased listening to it until he heard "Jesus Walks". The song was used in the trailer, as well as the credits of the 2005
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
film '' Jarhead''. "Jesus Walks" was featured in the AMC series "‘Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America", a six part documentary series that focused on a groundbreaking song each episode.


Track listings

US Promo single # "Jesus Walks" (Main) – 3:13 # "Jesus Walks" (Clean) – 3:13 US 12" single ;A-Side # "Jesus Walks" (Clean) – 3:13 # "Jesus Walks" (Dirty) – 3:13 # "Jesus Walks" (A cappella) – 3:09 ;B-Side # "Heavy Hitters" (Clean) – 3:00 # "Heavy Hitters" (Dirty) – 3:01 # "Heavy Hitters" (A cappella) – 3:00 Australia CD single # "Jesus Walks" (Album version) – 3:20 # "Jesus Walks" (Live) – 4:06 # "Through the Wire" (Live) – 4:23 # "Jesus Walks" (Mase remix) – 6:26 # "Jesus Walks" (Church version) – 3:59 UK CD single # "Jesus Walks" (Album version) – 3:21 # "Jesus Walks" (Live in Paridiso 2004) – 4:07 # "Through the Wire" (Live in Paridiso 2004) – 4:23 # "Jesus Walks" (Mase remix) – 3:52 # "Jesus Walks" (Video version 2) – 4:06 # "Jesus Walks" (Video version 3) – 4:18 UK Promo single # "Jesus Walks (Clean) – 3:20 # "Jesus Walks (12" Version) – 3:20 # "Jesus Walks (A Capella) – 3:09 # "Breathe In Breathe Out (Edited) – 4:06 # "Breathe In Breathe Out (Explicit) – 4:06 Live Digital single #"Jesus Walks" (Live) – 3:31


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Personnel

Information taken from ''The College Dropout'' liner notes. *Songwriters:
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
, Che Smith *Record producer: Kanye West *Recorder: Tasuya Sato, Andrew Dawson, Eugene A. Toale *Recording Engineer: Marc Fuller *Mix engineer:
Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...
*Additional vocals:
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
*Violin: Miri Ben-Ari *Choir arranger: Curtis Lundy


Remix

The official remix of "Jesus Walks" was released on a bonus CD within his '' The College Dropout Video Anthology'' compilation DVD in 2005, which featured both
Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Mase (often stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean Combs, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 ...
and
Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...
on it. At the time of the remix, Mase had recently come out of retirement from being a minister to deliver a new verse. He spoke positively of West following the collaboration, saying, "I appreciate people like im people that dare to be different. Hip-hop is supposed to be an avenue of expression, and people are supposed to be able to express what they feel, what they believe."


References


External links


"Jesus Walks" Lyrics
at MTV (archived from 2009) {{authority control 2004 singles Kanye West songs MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video Music videos directed by Chris Milk Music videos directed by Michael Haussman Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kanye West Music videos directed by Kanye West Roc-A-Fella Records singles Def Jam Recordings singles 2004 songs Songs written by Rhymefest Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs about Jesus