Selah

Album: Jesus Is King (2019)
Charted: 19 19
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Songfacts®:

  • "Selah" is a Hebrew word that appears frequently in the Book of Psalms. Its precise meaning is unknown, but scholars believe that the word signifies some kind of musical interlude, allowing the listener to pause and reflect. West stated during the Jesus Is King listening session on September 28, 2019 that "Selah" means "to look back and reflect upon."
  • The song itself is a faith-based freestyle in which West talks about his devout love for Christ. He also compares the constant criticism he gets to what Noah had to endure while building an ark to house all the animal species during a worldwide flood.
  • The song's opening lines ("God is King, we the soldiers. Ultrabeam out the solar") link to the opening lines of the Life of Pablo track "Ultralight Beam." That cut found West rapping about trying to maintain his faith and looking to God to help him. While The Life of Pablo was Ye's most faith-based album at the time, it still contained the standard rap tropes of profane language, explicit sexual references and braggadocio. Jesus Is King showcases West's spiritual transformation, as he concentrates on Christian themes and eradicates all vulgar lyrics.
  • The "hallelujah" bridge, which is sung by West's Sunday Service Choir, interpolates Stephen Hurd's 2006 track "Revelation 19:1."
  • This was used in commercial for the movie Fast & Furious 9 that aired during the Super Bowl in 2020.

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