Kanye is back! And this time, he's brought along his sister-in-law's ex, Travis Scott. The pair have teamed up for new track 'Wash Us In The Blood' which, mercifully, sounds like neither Ye's not-so-good attempt at a gospel album (last year's Jesus Is King) nor the very middling fruits of his summer of collaborations, in which team-ups with Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Nas and Teyana Taylor all proved to be significantly less than the sum of their parts.
Christophobes should note that Kanye's new love of Jesus does worm its way into 'Wash Us in the Blood': "Don't take me the wrong way," the newly minted billionaire raps, "Cos God took me a long way." But the track also takes aim at more secular targets, including slavery and the mass incarceration of Black Americans, albeit with an Old Testament spin: "Rain down on us / Genocide what it does / Slavery what it does / Rain down on us."
The track is the first single from Kanye's forthcoming album, God's Country (although considering his predilection for name-changers, don't bank on that being the title when it's finally released later this year). Unlike Jesus Is King, which drafted Kanye's Sunday Service Choir for a record of almost pure gospel, God's Country promises to tackle his newfound faith through the prism of rap. Which at least puts the polymath back on surer ground. Though Kanye's music has been admirably experimental over the last few years, it's arguable he hasn't made anything – either solo or with friends – that bears repeat listening since 2013's Yeezus. (Come at me, The Life of Pablo truthers).
You can watch the video now, directed by artist and frequent Kanye collaborator Arthur Jafa, below. Opening with footage of police confrontation and Black Lives Matter protests, it takes in footage from Kanye's Life Of Pablo tour as well as Sunday Service rehearsals and even the album cover to Funkadelic's Greatest Hits. Stream it here, buy the vinyl and cassettes here, and watch it below.
