On the heels of Monday’s announcement that Kanye West’s delayed “Jesus Is King” album will be released on Friday along with a companion IMAX film, the rapper will preview both projects at the Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday, it was announced this morning.
Tickets for the “Jesus Is King Album & Film Experience” will be free to the public on a first come, first served basis on Wednesday morning at 10am PDT via Ticketmaster. Judging by past listening and screening sessions in recent weeks, tickets will be snapped up within minutes.
“Kanye will premiere both the album and the film on Wednesday, October 23rd at a special listening and screening at the Forum in Los Angeles,” the announcement reads, adding “’Jesus Is King’ follows 2018’s ‘Ye’ – Kanye’s eighth consecutive #1 album – which tied the record for most consecutive #1 albums in chart history.” While the use of the word “premiere” is curious, it’s likely that the album has changed since the previous listening sessions over the past few weeks.
The album was originally slated for a Sept. 27 release, and West previewed it with three listening events in three cities that weekend — along with two different performances of his “Sunday Service” concert — but he apparently decided it wasn’t ready and postponed the release. The album’s non-arrival, with news passed along via rumors and social-media posts from West’s wife Kim Kardashian, was a news event in itself for some.
The companion IMAX film, also called “Jesus Is King,” is scheduled for release on Oct. 25 as well. “Filmed in the summer of 2019, ‘Jesus Is King’ brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert,” the IMAX release said of the film. A minute-long trailer for the film has been released, which features a choir sings a passage loosely adapted from the book of Mark: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand/ Repent and believe in the gospel.”