Use This Gospel

The song features a guest appearance from Clipse on their reunion, after West's request to collaborate with them.

On Valentine's Day 2019, West invited Kenny G to perform music for his wife Kim Kardashian in their living room.[1] Following the performance, West allowed Kenny G to join him in the studio to hear material on Jesus Is King.[1] After hearing various tracks, Kenny G suggested that his saxophone "would sound really good" on "Use This Gospel".[1][2] West considered this idea "cool" and pulled out a microphone to record Kenny G's part, who kept the track for later reverb and EQ tweaks.[2] Kenny G declared he was highly proud "somebody of Kanye's caliber" that could call a lot of different people believed he "would be a person that he would want in this intimate vibe, serenading his wife".[2] He expressed overall positive feelings, saying he was proud to create "a beautiful sound", was "very touched", and appreciated the happiness he brought to others.[2] Discussing his appearance on the album prior to release, Kenny G summarized how he had "heard little snippets" that were posted online, but not the final song and was "sure it's cool" from what he listened to.[3] He also addressed a misconception his audience is "primarily white yuppies", asking that if this is true, "Why is [West] asking me to play on his record?"[4] Kenny G developed a friendship with West after they worked together, recalling fond memories of trading texts with the rapper, and describing him as "very nice [and] sweet".[5] In April 2022, he enthusiastically offered to provide an encore performance to reunite West and Kardashian.[5]

Clipse's appearance on the track marked a return of the duo, five years after member No Malice promised that they would not have a reunion. West requested a feature from Clipse, though member Pusha T was unsure if No Malice would accept or not. Pusha T expressed his feelings towards the duo collaborating again in a phone call with Vulture, stating: "I'm the younger brother, man. I mean, I'm happier than — I can't even express it!"[6] The rapper admitted that he had a lack of hope for a reunion due to No Malice turning down profitable gigs, though attributed this to his collaborator possibly feeling he should have been more present in his works. He said the entire theme of the album "totally speaks to where my brother is", and elaborated, assuring that No Malice and West "bonded, probably way more than me and Ye [did]" for the song's creation.[6] In an October 2019 interview with New Zealand DJ Zane Lowe, West remembered not wanting to rap until No Malice persuaded him to do it for "Use This Gospel", explaining he "didn't know how to rap for God" and concluding, "This is such a win for the kingdom."[6] Prior to sampling Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club on the song, West had shared the music video for their single "I Can Talk" (2009) on his blog in 2010.[7]

Multiple music journalists compared the prominent keys to a car alarm, with writers for The Washington Post describing the sound as "incessant dinging".[8][9][10][11]

Musically, "Use This Gospel" is a gospel number, with a maximalist style.[12][13][14] It includes a sample of the 2010 track "Costume Party" by Two Door Cinema Club.[7][15] The song is constructed around dinky keys that were described as sounding like an open door car alert,[8][9][10][11] contributed by Argentine record producer Federico Vindver.[16] These are accompanied by layered, digitized harmonic vocoder tones[17][18] that distort and imitate West's wordless melody.[8][9][19] At the beginning, the song features the drone of a single key's pulse, with the harmonies appearing later on.[19][20] Towards the climax, a vibrant saxophone solo from Kenny G[21][22][23] transitions into the outro.[9][10] The solo is based on the wordless melody and appears abruptly, lasting around 40 seconds.[9][10] West sings the song's hook, while both members of Clipse contribute a brief verse.[20][23][24][25]

In the lyrics of "Use This Gospel", both members of Clipse deliver self-reflection from different stages, connecting the universality of gospel.[13] On the hook, West provides traditional Christian prayer language, including the lyrics "We call on your blessings / In the Father, we put our faith" and "Use this gospel for protection, it's a hard road to heaven".[23][25][26] No Malice insists that his music conveys a positive message and repents for his past mistakes, declaring his verse to be "faith talk".[8][10][18][27] Pusha T references his morality using self-deprecation in his verse, such as admitting "Who [a]m I to judge? I'm crooked as Vegas".[18][22]

In December 2018, West collaborator Timbaland and Vindver took part in recording sessions with numerous rappers in Miami, including Saweetie and Lil Mosey.[28] West had arrived at the sessions in under 24 hours, with Vindver recalling that West "bl[ew them] away" when he started "playing tracks for the Yandhi project."[lower-alpha 1][28] Vindver detailed the collaborative process between West and Timbaland, saying: "Timbaland would freestyle with him in the studio — Tim on the drum machine, Kanye singing in real time. He wanted to make more healing music at that time. But he was still finding what it was."[28] West and Timbaland were reported to be recording together in Miami again during January 2019 for completion of the album, alongside rappers such as Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and YNW Melly.[30] In addition to the song, Timbaland contributed production to Jesus Is King tracks "Closed on Sunday", "Water", "Hands On", and "Jesus Is Lord". "Use This Gospel" was produced by West, Mexican-American music producer Angel Lopez, DrtWrk, Vindver, and Timbaland, while co-produced by BoogzDaBeast and Pi'erre Bourne.[lower-alpha 2][31]

Lopez recalled that the track "Law of Attraction" stemmed from a freestyle session with Timbaland, during which West hummed its main melody. After the session, Lopez told Vindver to add vocoder to the vocal. Lopez stated that West "went insane" after hearing the track and grabbed his microphone to freestyle the chorus.[16] Lopez recalled that out of the 70 songs that were done in the freestyle session, only "Law of Attraction" was kept, which according to him, was "a crucial piece of music that we worked on, which kept us in the conversation a week later".[16] Singer-songwriter Ant Clemons wrote the track for Yandhi, which leaked online in July 2019, along with other West songs.[16][32][33] It appeared online incorrectly titled "Chakras" and in response to the leaks, Lopez issued a statement that leaked music jeopardizes "the essence of our collaborations, our crafts, and our livelihood".[32][33][34] He further declared, "The leaking of music isn't for the fans or for the love of music; it's an invasion of privacy."[32][33] At the time, it was reported by several outlets that Lopez was involved in the track's production.[34] "Law of Attraction" was ultimately scrapped, being re-recorded as "Use This Gospel" for Jesus Is King.[26]

"Use This Gospel" was released on October 25, 2019, as the tenth and penultimate track on West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King.[35] However, it was originally slated to appear as the album's final track.[36] During various promotional events for the album in late September 2019, West previewed the song.[12] It was played as the final track of a listening event at the United Palace theater in the New York City neighborhood Washington Heights on September 29, for West's mini-tour Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience. The preview was interrupted after 10 p.m. by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), who used their authority to declare the show finished. West responded by pushing the NYPD out of his way, and finishing the song as he sang and hummed with the crowd.[37][38]

On October 27, 2019, West performed the song with Clipse, Kenny G, and his gospel group the Sunday Service Choir for the group's concert at The Forum in Inglewood, California.[39][40] West appeared on a raised platform during the concert and was backed by the Sunday Service Choir, who were dressed in white robes and led by Jason White.[40][41][42] The stage was surrounded by a meadow setting on the arena floor, featuring plants and trees.[41][42] Kenny G played his saxophone to open the performance as West watched him, drawing applause from both the Sunday Service Choir and the audience.[40][41] Clipse embraced each other after No Malice delivered the final line of his verse, "Just hold on to your brother when his faith lost."[39][41] Kenny G explained that the performance was not properly rehearsed, saying it "was so impromptu in some ways".[41] He recalled that a "slight rehearsal" was done, but West is "very creative and on the spot just comes up with some super good ideas".[41]

West accompanied the release of Jesus Is King with his concert film of the same name, which includes him humming a portion of the song in a cappella during the final scene.[43][44][45][46] Kanye performs it as a lullaby to his son Psalm West as he cradles him to his chest, shown in a close-up shot.[44][45][46] The rapper appears shirtless and his face is not visible, with only his hands and torso shown in the shot.[45][46] On September 18, 2020, Kanye revealed via Twitter that "Use This Gospel" is his daughter North West's favorite song by him.[47]

"Use This Gospel" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, with them mostly praising Clipse's appearance. Aaron McKrell from HipHopDX chose the song as the album's highlight, focusing on the "show-stealing" saxophone solo from Kenny G, "entrancing cries", and Clipse's reunion that is "heavy on duality"; he concluded by calling it both "enjoyable and frustrating" due to indicating "what the entire album could have been like had Ye dedicated more time to this creative space".[48] Pitchfork's Rawiya Kameir believed the maximalism of Kanye West's previous "leather-skirt phase" covers the song's "expansive soundscape" and questioned if Kenny G's solo is "the 2019 equivalent of throwing Elton John onto a hook, just because you can", further branding "the inherent tension" between Clipse as the album's "most interesting moment" thematically.[13] At NOW Magazine, Matthew Progress viewed it as a potential exception to the album's lackluster material, appreciating the "unprecedented reuniting" of Clipse and Kenny G's feature.[49] Will Rosebury of Clash declared that the song features the duo's "long-awaited reunion" and saw it as "a magnificent crescendo to an album that feels like it's been meticulously composed".[50] Journalist Greg Kot wrote for the Chicago Tribune that Clipse's verses are among Jesus Is King's main "musical sparks", noting West allows "message to trump musicality".[25] The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica named the song an album standout, asserting that West's "prayerful singing" with vulnerability echoing his 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak sets up for the duo's "back-to-back verses", and the beginning features "a persistent, needling drone that bespeaks anxiety, disorientation and a pressing need for healing".[20]

In The Independent, Roisin O'Connor highlighted Kenny G's "vibrant sax solo" and picked the song as one of the album's "few tracks that really hark back to West's older sounds", resembling his 2010 single "Power".[21] Ross Horton similarly commented for The Line of Best Fit that it is one of the tracks to keep, observing how "the limitless, endless power" displayed on West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) is evoked.[51] He particularly noticed "how casually we get gifted a Kenny G sax solo, because it's Kanye West motherfucker, he does what he wants".[51] Echoing this sentiment, Paste's Steven Edelstone considered if the solo is the only "memorable hook".[52] In a lukewarm review at Entertainment Voice, Adi Mehta stated that West "sticks to relatively tradition prayer language", with "some more poetic lines" performed by No Malice.[26] Mehta also thought Kenny G's appearance is possibly "the single oddest detail" of Jesus Is King, describing him as sounding like his true self by performing with "a passion that fits the spiritual focus" and affirming he makes the song "highly original".[26] Ben Devlin expressed similar feelings in musicOMH; he called Clipse's reunion the album's "biggest spectacle" with their verses that "go over well", but saw West's "digitised vocal harmonies" as "a little clunky" and threatening to "overshadow the proceedings".[18] Devlin also pointed out that Kenny G's solo may be "technically impressive", yet it is "glaringly unnecessary".[18]

Some reviews were less positive. Joey Chini provided a mixed review of "Use This Gospel" for Exclaim!, highlighting West's delivery of the "great hook", though he complained that Clipse "are criminally underused" on their reunion and viewed Kenny G's "brilliant sax solo" as completely "isolated from the rest of the song".[23] Dean Van Nguyen from The Guardian believed the reunion "promise[s] a beautiful subplot" to the album, describing the duo as "artistically reconciled" by Pusha T's trust "in West's vision" lining up with "No Malice's insistence that his music carries a positive message".[8] However, he labeled the song "frustratingly undercooked" due to its basis of "some dinky keys and West's distorted hums that sound hastily synched by a loop pedal" and said Kenny G's "surprisingly simplistic" solo is "not helped by West", who shows a lack of depth about his personal struggle that inspired the album through certain lines.[8] Entertainment Weekly's Brian Josephs depicted Clipse's reunion as highly "haphazard" and affirmed the verses "work well enough" due to their lyricism, but wrote that it is "mixed like they found really good gospel hums online" rather than "veterans making a song".[27] Wren Graves of Consequence felt that the duo "temporarily impress", yet the moment of interest fails to "sustain over the [song's full] course".[53]

The song's debut at number 37 marked Kenny G's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 since 2000, making him one of the five acts to reach the top 40 of the chart every decade since the 1980s.

In the week of Jesus Is King's release, "Use This Gospel" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 37, with 17.3 million streams.[54] This gave Clipse their fifth track to chart on the Hot 100 and marked the duo's first entry since 2003.[55] The song also gave Kenny G his 12th entry on the chart and his first since 2000, standing as his first top 40 hit of the 2010s decade.[54][55] It led to him joining Michael Jackson, Madonna, Irish band U2, and "Weird Al" Yankovic as one of fives acts that charted in the top 40 of the Hot 100 in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s; he was the first act to do this since the band in 2017.[54]

The song further debuted at number seven on both the US Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts, rounding out West's seven tracks that placed identically on those charts.[56] In its second week on the former chart, the song rose to number six, while it climbed to number five on the Gospel Songs chart.[57][58] The song eventually peaked at number three on the latter chart for the issue dated December 7, 2019.[59] It entered the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 20.[60] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded a gold certification to "Use This Gospel" for amassing 500,000 certified units in the United States on March 22, 2022.[61]

In Canada, the song debuted at number 34 on the Canadian Hot 100.[62] It experienced similar success in Australia, reaching number 36 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[63] "Use This Gospel" performed best in Latvia, where it peaked at number 24 on the Latvian Singles Chart.[64] The song entered the Icelandic Singles Chart at number 32,[65] while also reaching the top 50 in Denmark and Lithuania.[66][67] It further appeared on the charts in Slovakia,[68] Portugal,[69] Sweden,[70] and France.[71]

Credits for "Use This Gospel" adapted from Tidal and the BMI Repertoire.[lower-alpha 2][31]

On September 18, 2020, West announced a remix of the song by record producer Dr. Dre that features fellow rapper Eminem. West had previously announced Jesus Is King Part II in November 2019, a collaborative remix album by him and the producer. The rapper posted with the remix tweet that he had always loved and respected Eminem, expressing respect towards him for appearing on the song.[47][72] The two of them had previously collaborated on the single "Forever" in 2009, alongside Drake and Lil Wayne.[72] On August 23, 2022, DJ and record executive DJ Khaled revealed the track list for his thirteenth studio album God Did, including the remix.[73] Three days later, the remix of "Use This Gospel" was released as the third track on the album.[74]

In an interview with Lowe, Khaled revealed how the remix ended up on the album. He stated that West had played him Jesus Is King Part II in full a year and a half prior, calling it "incredible".[75] Even though West and Khaled had recorded a couple of tracks for God Did, they were never finished due to the rapper's busy schedule. As part of a "last minute magic gift", Khaled asked West if he could include the remix on God Did since it perfectly fit the album's theme.[75] According to Khaled, West loved the idea, which he joked "You know Ye don't love no idea".[75] Before confirming the inclusion, West insisted on contacting both Dr. Dre and Eminem for their approval.[75] On August 27, 2022, Khaled shared a video of West and Dr. Dre working on the song in the studio via Instagram, captioning it "produced by Dr. Dre my idol".[76] The remix was produced by Dr. Dre and the ICU.[77]