Kanye West has vowed to use his "arrogance" as the "greatest artist God ever created" to help spread the teachings of Christianity to a wider audience.
The Stronger rapper was a special guest speaker at U.S. televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas on Sunday morning (17Nov19), when he shared all about how he rediscovered his Christian roots and decided to dedicate himself to God.
During the live chat, Kanye explained his beliefs began to shift following his hospitalisation in Los Angeles in late 2016, in the middle of his Saint Pablo Tour, when he began to experience "visions" from a higher power.
"I know that God's been calling me for a long time and the devil's been distracting me for a long time," he said.
"When I was in my lowest points, God was there with me and sending me visions and inspiring me, and I remember sitting in the hospital at UCLA after having a mental breakdown and there's documentation of me drawing a church and (wanting to) start a church in the middle of Calabasas."
The incident inspired Kanye to adopt more of a gospel sound for his music, and eventually led to his first Christian rap album, his recently-released Jesus Is King, through which he wants to spread the word of God in his typically outspoken manner.
"All of that arrogance, and confidence and cockiness that y'all seen me use before, God is now using for Him," he declared. "Because every time I stand up, I feel that I'm standing up and drawing a line in the sand and saying, 'I'm here in service to God and no weapons armed against me shall prosper.'"
Kanye continued, "Jesus has won the victory... Now the greatest artist that God has ever created is now working for Him."
The interview took place ahead of a planned performance by Kanye and members of his Sunday Service choir, who will return for Lakewood's Sunday night service.
Kanye was cheered on during the discussion by his wife Kim Kardashian and their daughter North, who were seated in the front row.
