Kanye West Wrote An Opera & He's Going To Present It At The Hollywood Bowl

Kanye West is just full of surprises.

On Sunday (November 17), the recently converted Christian rapper announced that he will be presenting "A Kanye West Opera" at the Hollywood Bowl on November 24. The live performance, titled "Nebuchadnezzar," will feature "Music with Sunday Service, Peter Collins & Infinities Song" and be under the artistic direction of Italian contemporary performance artist Vanessa Beecroft.

Ye shared the "invite artwork," an etched golden slab with an image of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, along with the previously mentioned details to Twitter, providing no other information. As some might know, Nebuchadnezzar is a real-life Biblical character, who ruled over the Babylonian empire until he was driven mad, as detailed in the Book of Daniel.

Kanye referenced the Babylonian King in a previous interview, saying, “[God] is saying, let me take this Nebuchadnezzar-type character. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon, and he looked at his entire kingdom and said, ‘I did this.’ I stood on the top of the mountain talking about Yeezus, saying, ‘I’m a God,’ I had a guy dressed as Jesus.”

Ye's opera announcement comes amid his spiritual deep dive. Most recently, the 42-year-old rapper declared himself “the greatest artist that God has ever created” while visiting pastor Joel Osteen's church in Texas on Sunday.

Prior to his church visit, Ye dropped Jesus Is Kinghis first gospel-inspired project and ninth studio album — late last month. The 11-track EP features Ty Dolla $ign, Fred Hammond, Kenny G and more. It marked the beginning of a new sound for Ye as he promotes family values, talks of his relationship with Christ, and evangelizes —pointing listeners to the word of God — throughout the record.

The album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 — Kanye's ninth consecutive No. 1 album in a row — moving 264,000 equivalent album units in its first week. It also accompanied Ye's Jesus Is King IMAX film, which brought the rapper's famed Sunday Service to life.

Photo: Getty Images


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