It’s impossible to understate the disappointment that lifelong Kanye West fans have felt since his decision to publicly and openly support President Trump. Regardless, Ye has continued to release music in the wake of the backlash over his political moves, including a failed attempt at running for president. This summer the rapper said he no longer supports Trump, and on Christmas he seems to be focused back on the thing we can all agree on: He makes incredible music.
Following up the 2019 release of Jesus Is Born on Christmas, this year he’s released a five-track EP called Emmanuel. Both releases stray from the hip-hop/rap side of things and toward choral and gospel music that he’s been working toward with his Sunday Service projects. The cover art for the project was done by Nick Knight, and the project is independently distributed by the New Jersey-based platform Vydia.
Emmanuel, which translates to “God with us,” is a mix of English and Latin, and was composed and executive produced by Kanye. This isn’t the only new music from the hip-hop icon to drop today — his feature on Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red for the track “Go2DaMoon” was also a surprise. That song is much more in the traditional realm of a Kanye verse, and not the pristine choral composition he dropped on his own today. Stream Emmanuel below.
