Follow God

"Follow God" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019).

The producers wrote it alongside Aaron Butts, though the song's sampling of work by Whole Truth led to songwriting credits being listed for Calvin and Curtis Eubanks.

It was playlisted to UK mainstream radio by the BBC as the album's lead single on November 8, 2019, through GOOD Music and Def Jam.

Commercially, "Follow God" debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming West's 18th track to reach the top 10 on the chart.

[3] The song title was first revealed in a revised track listing of Jesus Is King that West's wife Kim Kardashian shared via Twitter on September 27, 2019.

[12] West begins his verse with lines about struggling to achieve pureness in a world of sin, while in other lyrics he compares himself to Jesus Christ and Michael Jordan.

[27] On November 5, West chose it as the lead single from Jesus Is King after it became the album's most popular track on streaming services at the time.

[31] On November 1, 2019, West and his gospel group the Sunday Service Choir performed the song during a concert at Bethany Rose Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[32] West performed the track during a surprise appearance at fellow rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston on November 9, 2019.

[33] During a Sunday Service Experience performance of the song at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church on November 17, West name-dropped American convict Rodney Reed, who Kardashian helped with delaying a court order.

[34] West performed the song live as part of a Sunday Service concert in Downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row on December 29, 2019.

[nb 1] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Brian Josephs called the song West's "most palpable post-Life of Pablo thriller," citing his verse as "a surreal stream-of-conscious sprint".

[39] Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound said the song structure is reminiscent of West's "older tricks" and commented, "It's not just the best beat on the album; it's also Kanye at his most lucid and raw.

"[25] The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber likened the "focus and ease" of West's flow to that of Watch the Throne, his 2011 album with fellow rapper Jay-Z.

[40] Ross Horton of The Line of Best Fit regarded the track as "a sickening reminder of how good Ye has been in the past", highlighting its "bulletproof beats, scratchy rapid-fire rapping," and "tight rhymes".

[37] Jordan Bassett of NME called the song "pounding" and likened its "bouncing beat" to music from West's 2018 album Ye.

[36] Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic cited the "slapping beat" as among Jesus Is King's "true power" which he felt was in West's "meticulous studio tinkering".

[27] Rolling Stone's Brendan Klinkenberg described the Whole Truth sample as "neck-snappingly good" with "the kind of textured punch that, still, only West seems capable of.

"[41] In The Independent, Roisin O'Connor appreciated the sample's "cool, funk-inflected" groove, and said the song has "some of West's sharpest bars delivered in a strangely deadpan style.

[18] Rawiya Kameir of Pitchfork wrote that despite Jesus Is King lacking the vulnerability which made West "a uniquely compelling artist," "Follow God" was an exception because it "prompts consideration, however shallow, of what it means to be 'Christlike.

[43] On the other hand, Andrew R. Chow of Time was critical of West for not developing a metaphor about God, and called the song "a reject" from GOOD Music president Pusha T's 2018 album Daytona.

Eric Skelton from the publication said the track was a reminder of West's "enduring musical gifts" and its "vintage Ye" production "should please anyone who still pines for a return of the 'old Kanye.

[51][56] Craig Jenkins of Vulture wrote that "Follow God" continued a streak from 2011's "Otis" and 2007's "Flashing Lights" as West's "most striking" videos that were also filmed in cars.

[65] Thom Waite of Dazed felt it showed that Kanye's relationship with Ray was "running a bit more smoothly" than what the song's lyrics suggested.

[68][70] "Follow God" became West's most successful release on US Christian Songs where it debuted at the top of the chart, ending Lauren Daigle's 66-week run at number one with "You Say".

[75] On January 10, 2024, the song was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for track-equivalent sales of 2,000,000 units in the US.

[24] Pusha T announced his wife Virginia Williams' pregnancy in a freestyle rap over "Follow God" shared via Instagram on December 9, 2019.