Kirk Franklin Says Kanye Offered Beats Without Taking Credit

Kirk Franklin said Kanye West once offered him beats with no public credit to avoid upsetting Christians. He refused to accept the music on those terms.

“Because that sends a message that your gift is good enough, but you’re not,” Franklin told Nessa on HOT 97.

He recalled West arriving at his home with his father and cousin the day after Thanksgiving in 2014. West had driven from Oklahoma, where he had relatives. Franklin said West and his dad ate all his Thanksgiving leftovers. West wanted to help the genre, Franklin said.

Franklin and West shared a public gospel moment in 2016. Franklin appeared on “Ultralight Beam,” the opener on West’s 2016 album The Life of Pablo. He also joined West on “Saturday Night Live,” a performance AllHipHop covered that brought gospel, rap and R&B artists to the same stage.

That question of who gets welcomed into gospel has followed Franklin for decades. In a 2016 PBS interview, he described criticism from traditional churchgoers over his sound and stage moves. The report traced how “Stomp” reached R&B and Hip-Hop charts and secular radio in 1997.

That reach had roots in his 1993 debut, Kirk Franklin and the Family, which spent 100 weeks on the gospel charts. Franklin told PBS that religious rules could get in the way of a person’s relationship with God. He saw falling church attendance among young people as part of the challenge.

Franklin’s latest music has kept those doors open. His September deal with Uptown Records brought him to the label Andre Harrell founded, with a history that includes Mary J. Blige, Jodeci and Heavy D & The Boyz.

Ahead of I Am What I Am, Franklin discussed the cost of crossing those lines in a separate interview with Audacy’s Big Mack. He said rejection from his own faith community could hurt more than the creative fight itself. The album’s title, he explained, reflected how much of his life he had spent trying to show his love for Jesus, even when listeners questioned him.

Apple Music listed the 14-song set for October 30, with GloRilla, Davido and Jelly Roll among its guests.