There has been a lot of speculation circling around the weekly Sunday Service performances that Kanye West has been orchestrating since the first Sunday of 2019. The invite-only gospel jam sessions had only been seen by the public through social media posts from those in attendance, most notably Kim Kardashian-West. People have been wondering if the gospel performances are an indication of the direction Kanye is taking with his next album, possibly preparation for an upcoming tour, or maybe it’s just Kanye doing his own version of Sunday mass.
Whatever the case may be, the public finally got to experience Sunday Service for the first time live at Coachella on Easter morning, while the rest of the world was able to able to see it through a round-lens on Coachella’s Youtube live stream.
The set began with the Sunday Service ensemble moving in a procession towards the top of the hill they would be performing on, all dressed comfily in purple panchos and pants. Kanye is spotted with his hair dyed purple. One of the keyboard players plays a somber yet soothing melody as the choir makes their way to the hilltop.
Chance The Rapper, Kid Cudi, Francis of Francis & The Lights, Ty Dolla $ign, and more are seen among the ensemble, each one singing along with the choir as they start off with a gospel rendition of Ultralight Beam’s intro.
The setlist starts of with renditions of “Father Stretch My Hands” and “Power”, stripping-away the hip-hop verses to focus more on the gospel samples that are incorporated throughout Kanye’s discography. Gospel hymns and other songs are incorporated into the set list, such as “Ha Ya (Eternal Life)” by The Clark Sisters, which is sampled on JAY-Z’s “Family Feud” off of “4:44”.
YEEZY pic.twitter.com/heEylnXBtQ
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
Teyana Taylor takes the spotlight halfway through the set, as she performs “Never Would Have Made It”. Elements of Chicago house music then begin to incorporate themselves into the gospel set, as “Follow Me” by Aly-Us fades into “Fade”, followed by “Brighter Days (Underground Goodie Mix) by Cajmere.
The gears shift again when the choir begins to sing “Lift Yourself”, backed solely by an acoustic guitar. Kim Kardashian-West runs up the hill with North and the other children in the family as the song climaxes, and North gets handed the mic to drop a “poopity scoop”.
Kanye has been quiet up to this point in the set, but that changes once he begins to rap the verse to “All Falls Down”. His voice is hoarse and he’s stumbling over his words, but after a shaky start Kanye recovers and kills the rest of the track.
ALL FALLS DOWN#COACHELLA pic.twitter.com/iHCI9JZLPr
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
“This is a new joint called Water” announces Kanye West, as singer Ant Clemons grabs a mic to start the track with the repeating words “We are water”. The song alludes to the holiness and cleansing properties of water with the lines “Let your light reflect on me” and “Clean us like the rain of spring”. Ty Dolla $ign also makes an appearance on the song.
Kanye previews new song called “Water” ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/QfsCtJ0bc9
— jay (@jescutler) April 21, 2019
Chance then delivers his powerful verse on Ultralight Beam. As this point there is a rollercoaster of emotions, as Kanye breaks down in tears and Kid Cudi, Chance, and DMX help console him. Tears are also seen rolling down producer/engineer Mike Dean’s face.
Powerful.
Ye, Cudi, DMX, and Chance#SundayService pic.twitter.com/MIhn4m0zmh
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
DMX then delivers a prayer, followed by a powerful performance of Jesus Walks. The performance ends with a procession down the hill as the chorus performs another rendition of “Fade”. See the tracklist below and get your Sunday Service merch available now on Kanye’s webstore.
DMX preaching at #SundayService
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 21, 2019
Kanye West – “Ultralight Beam” / “Ultralight Prayer”
“How Excellent”
“No Greater Love”
Pastor T.L. Barrett – “Father Stretch My Hands”
Kanye West – “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1”
Kanye West – “Power”
“Lift Him Up”
The Clark Sisters – “Ha Ya (Eternal Life)”
Otis Redding – “Try a Little Tenderness”
Kanye West & JAY-Z – “Otis”
Stevie Wonder – “As”
Soul II Soul – “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)”
Kanye West – “Everything We Need”
Teyana Taylor – “Never Would Have Made It”
Aly-Us – “Follow Me”
Kanye West – “Fade”
Cajmere – “Brighter Days (Underground Goodie Mix)” [ft. Dajaé]
Kirk Franklin – “Brighter Day”
“This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made”
Shirley Caesar – “Satan, We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down”
Kanye West – “Lift Yourself”
Kanye West – “All Falls Down”
Kanye West – “Water”
Kanye West – “Ultralight Beam”
DMX Prayer
Kanye West – “Jesus Walks”