Kanye West's new Gospel album, titled 'Jesus Is King', has reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard charts.
West now has nine studio albums to his name, with his latest 'Jesus Is King' - released on October 25 - marking his ninth consecutive album to debut at the top of The Billboard 200.
The feat means the rapper is now tied with Eminem for the "most consecutive No. 1's on the Billboard 200 charts".
His latest album also smashes West's own previous streaming record; 'Jesus Is King' provided him with his biggest streaming week ever, and is the fifth largest overall in 2019, with 196.9 million on-demand streams. The release also saw West post the second-largest sales week of the year for an R&B/Hip-Hop album, with over 100,000 copies sold.
"Number one in the country right now, number one in the world right now, Jesus is King," West said at his Sunday Service concert on Friday at Bethany Church in Baton Rouge.
"Number one song, number one album and they told me I would (inaudible) if I gave my life to Christ but God is showing out," he declared. "Who's number one? Jesus is number one!" the rapper said as his gospel choir sang the chorus "Father I stretch my hands to you."
Reports claim that at the concert, 1,000 people professed their newfound faith in Jesus Christ. The American Bible Society has also said it is committed to providing Bibles to any of West's fans who want to read the Word of God. The Christian charity has said it will send up to 1,000 free Bibles to people in the U.S. who are curious about the historical book and Christian faith.
Dr. John Farquhar Plake, director of ministry intelligence at American Bible Society, has said in a statement: "Kanye West's album has had an immediate effect on the current news cycle. 'Jesus is King' was a trending internet search last week with over 1 million queries on Google alone."
He added, "Coincidentally, something we're seeing as a rising trend is that most Americans turn to Google as a de facto spiritual guide. Our goal with this campaign is to give Americans – and, yes, Kanye fans – the opportunity to look for answers to their most pertinent questions at the source."
The change in West has surprised many as for many years the rapper projected a god complex through his blasphemous alter ego Yeezus.
However, this year he has declared himself a born again Christian, and has said he is devoting his life to "working for God". The turnaround has seen him establish his own Sunday Service events, featuring his own gospel choir, who often reimagine mainstream songs with Christian lyrics.
Since the release of West's latest album, online searches for the name "Jesus" and the phrase "What do Christians believe?" have both spiked.
The American Bible Society has said anyone in the U.S. interested in receiving a Bible free of charge can do so by November 22 here.
Meanwhile, West has said he will continue to make faith-based music, and is preparing to release a Christmas album titled Jesus Is Born.
West has said, "I believe because God has given me a gift that I pray for and so many people love that if I stop doing it, He might start to take all the things away."
