Mainstream hip-hop artist Kanye West has made some pretty controversial statements regarding faith and religion, and many people have fumed over his theories and comparisons to God.
However, Kanye has always professed to be a Christian, and during his wedding to reality TV star Kim Kardashian, they were even wed by their good friend and Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.
Now, West has designed the cover for Wilkerson's newest book entitled "Sandcastle Kings: Meeting Jesus in a Spiritually Bankrupt World," which uses four stories found in the seventh chapter of Luke to explain why people cannot find spiritual fulfilment within themselves, in other people, material things, and even religion.
PEOPLE asked Wilkerson why he chose Kanye to do the cover art, despite his rocky stand within the Christian community, and the pastor simply answered: "Kanye is a really good friend. We chat every week about different things: clothes, design, music, architecture, Jesus. He's an amazing artist and designer, and with my first book coming out, I thought it would be fun for him to design the cover."
When he asked Kanye to do the cover, the "Jesus Walks" rapper was actually enthusiastic about it, and Wilkerson admitted that it looked more like an art rather than a book cover.
"It's clean, minimalistic, and simple, with big brush strokes. It's exactly what I hoped it would be," he described.
Kanye might not be well-received by people, but the Florida-based pastor says he is able to see past public perception and accept Kanye for who he truly is.
"I know Kanye as my friend; we talk about Jesus. And that's the whole point: God doesn't care about scandals; he cares about people, Wilkerson said. "It makes sense for Kanye to design the book cover. It makes a statement."
