Kanye West is one of the most polarizing figures in all of entertainment. Whether it's his support for President Trump or his musical antics, Kanye certainly knows how to keep people talking. Here are some of the "Jesus Is King" rapper's top moments of 2019.
1) Kanye says he’s running for president in 2024, urges black Americans not to vote Democrat
Kanye has often been outspoken about his conservative beliefs and his avid support for President Trump, but the rapper isn’t stopping there. In early November, the rapper announced that he intends to run for president of the United States in 2024.
"When I run for president in 2024, we're going to definitely — yo whatchu all laughing at?" Kanye reacted to the laughing crowd at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York City. "When I run for president in 2024, we would've created so many jobs that, in fact, I'm going to walk," Kanye said.
"What I'm saying is, when y'all read the headlines, 'Kanye's crazy,' this and that, this and that, it's like one-in-three African-Americans are in jail and all of the celebrities are in jail also because they can't say nothing! They've got no opinion! They're so scared!"
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That same day, Kanye caused a media firestorm when he urged black Americans not to vote for Democrats.
“Own your power. Your power is not to just vote Democrat for the rest of our lives. That’s not the power,” Kanye said, as Page Six reported.
“The power is when I talk to my lawyer… I put on my trench coat and said, ‘We’re moving these factories to America, and that’s how it’s going to be’ — and it’s lovely.”
2) Kanye scores big with “Jesus Is King”
Kanye’s highly anticipated album “Jesus Is King” was finally released on Oct. 25, after over a year’s worth of buildup. Initially announced as “Yandhi” — a portmanteau of “Yeezus” (which, in itself, is a nickname that compares Kanye to Jesus) and “Gandhi” — the gospel album was released and did big numbers for the polarizing rap star.
“Jesus Is King” was, in fact, Kanye’s ninth consecutive album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, tying Eminem and breaking a personal record with the biggest streaming week ever, at 196.9 million on-demand streams, according to Billboard.
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Alongside that, every song on the 11-track album charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of its release.
"Follow God" debuted the highest on the chart in the Top 10 at No. 7, followed by "Closed On Sunday," the 42-year-old born-again believer's anthem about Chick-fil-A and family values, at No. 17.
He followed it up with "Jesus Is Born," which dropped on Christmas Day.
3) The arrival of Sunday Service
Kanye's gospel group, Sunday Service, has made constant headlines since its inception in January 2019. Throughout this year, Sunday Service has worked to spread the word of Christianity to Kanye's legions of followers through several high-profile events.
In April, after announcing that he would drop out of Coachella, Kanye returned and brought Sunday Service to the annual music festival in California. Festival-goers were treated to food and drinks, as well as $165-$225 sweatshirts, $50 “Jesus Walks” socks and $70 T-shirts that read “Trust God” on the front and “Sunday Service at the Mountain” on the back.
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Kanye even addressed parishioners at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch where he said his recent spiritual awakening has made him realize he’s no longer in the service of fame and money but “in service to God.”
Kanye told the estimated 16,000 parishioners in attendance alongside Osteen, “I know that God has been calling me for a long time and the devil has been distracting me for a long time.”
The rapper shared that at his lowest point, when he was hospitalized in 2016 after a “mental breakdown,” God “was there with me, sending me visions, inspiring me.”
4) Kim and Kanye’s new child is born, Met Gala controversy
Kim Kardashian and Kanye welcomed their fourth child, Psalm, in May via surrogate.
While not the most controversial moment of Kanye’s year, it did serve as an impressive notch on the belt of the always-busy rapper — who has had his plate full with ”Jesus Is King” and Sunday Service commitments from the onset of the year.
Kardashian did raise eyebrows, however, after opting to commit to the Met Gala although her surrogate was due within the same time period.
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“I mean, it has taken eight months to get our Met look perfect,” Kim added, “and I committed to it and I can’t miss this.”
Kanye himself was not a fan of the attire and caused quite a stir on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” when he advised Kim to remove the fake nipples she initially had attached to the dress.
The rapper and the makeup mogul are also parents to North, 6, Saint, 4 and Chicago, 1.
5) Kanye reveals porn addiction, banned "Jesus Is King" team from partaking in premarital sex
In October, Kanye opened up about having an addiction to pornography throughout his life and how he overcame the addiction. Kanye also talked about prohibiting his "Jesus Is King" team from engaging in premarital sex.
“Playboy was my gateway into full-blown pornography addiction. My dad had a Playboy left out at age 5, and it’s affected almost every choice I made for the rest of my life,” Kanye told Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1." “From age 5, to now having to kick the habit. And it just presents itself in the open, like it’s OK. And I stand up and say, you know, it’s not OK.”
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“With God, I’ve been able to beat things that had a full control of me,” he added.
Upon freeing himself from addiction, Kanye asked “Jesus Is King” collaborators for a big favor. “There’s times where I was asking people to not have premarital sex while they were working on the album,” Kanye told Lowe.