page_title: Follow God
section_title: Background and development
hierarchical_section_title: Follow God / Background and development
caption_attribution_description: The Forum in LA. Under Jesus is King listening party.
context_page_description: "Follow God" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King. The song was produced by West, BoogzDaBeast and Xcelence. 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. Around the time of release, the song was the top performing track from Jesus Is King on streaming services. A hip hop and trap track, it includes a sample of "Can You Lose by Following God" by Whole Truth, which is chopped up in certain sections.
  The lyrics of "Follow God" are about Kanye West's connection with his father, which is in reference to both God and his biological father Ray West, while the meaning of being "Christlike" is questioned by him. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics; many named it the best track on Jesus Is King. Critics appreciated the bouncing beat and Whole Truth sample, and complimented West's rapping flow and pace.
context_section_description: Kanye West produced "Follow God" with Xcelence and BoogzDaBeast, the latter of which is one of Jesus Is King's lesser-known producers who contributed to six of its tracks. West previously worked with BoogzDaBeast on the 2018 self-titled debut studio album by Kids See Ghosts, a hip hop duo composed of West and Kid Cudi. 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. West later previewed the track at a listening party for the album at The Forum in the Los Angeles County on October 23 of that year.
  The song samples "Can You Lose By Following God" (1969) by gospel band Whole Truth, which was featured on archival record label The Numero Group's 2013 compilation album Good God! Apocryphal Hymns. Though the album was not confirmed to be the sample source, West had often sampled music released through the archival record label in the past, including on his tracks "Bound 2", "Facts", "Ghost Town", and "4th Dimension". Brothers Calvin and Curtis Eubanks received credit as writers on "Follow God" because they contributed backing vocals to "Can You Lose By Following God". The song was co-written by West, Aaron Butts, Xcelence and BoogzDaBeast. "Follow God" was one of the three tracks that caused the release of Jesus Is King to be delayed due to mixing modifications. West collaborator Consequence explained that the song was important to West due to him being "up against the ghost of" his previous tracks such as "Otis", "Good Morning", "Champion" and "Heard 'Em Say". According to Consequence, "Follow God" had "to go somewhere new" and "be mechanically in tune with the people." Consequence said the song "is a dirty version that got cleaned up," which he and West opted for, believing it was an authentic version that "the people are going to gravitate to". West cited "Follow God" as an example of him creating a track "that people never heard before."
caption: West teased the song in 2019 prior to release, including playing it during a listening party for Jesus Is King at The Forum in the County of Los Angeles.
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