Admittedly, when listening to music, production value and abstract arrangements intrigue me. Nothing was more abstract than when I seen on Instagram that Kirk Franklin and Kanye West were to collaborate. Intrigued indeed, I was excited about the possibility. “Ultralight Prayer” is a extension to the ending of West’s “Ultralight Beam” off of his The Life of Pablo album. Nevertheless, this extension doesn’t feature West, Kirk Franklin takes front and center on this track, listen below:
Critics, skeptics, supporters, and the “in-betweens” will continuously assert their opinion about the validity of the spiritual connotations of their collaboration, but I, personally enjoyed Ultralight Beam’s musical elements and I thoroughly enjoyed the Easter-release of “Ultralight Prayer.” Get into the five reasons I appreciated “Ultralight Prayer,” below:
- The Prayer: The actual prayer is a cry for help and a seemingly desperate plea for God’s interaction in the lives of listeners by Franklin. I’m actually glad that Kirk Franklin prayed rather than Kanye, as it attests to the need for intercession on the behalf of believers. If nothing else, this extension should a be reminder to pray for others in times like these.
- Kelly Price’s Background Adlibs: “Linda, honey, Just listen” I was absolutely here for every single ad lib that Kelly Price uttered. Can we remix it with Fantasia, Le’Andria Johnson, or Brandy adlibs?
- The Influence of the Gospel genre: Because I have Gospel roots, the gospel flavor that this extension “intentionally” curated naturally excites me
- The Platform to Plant the Seed: I appreciate that Kirk Franklin remained true to his character in his involvement with this collaboration, in that he used this platform to plant seeds of positivity and pray for positivity.
- Kanye West Kirk Franklin’d Kirk Franklin: Don’t get me wrong, I revere Unc (Kirk Franklin), but I’ve always found it ironic that all of his work is pushed out as “Kirk Franklin” when you only here is voice on 25% of his tracks. So it’s humorous to see “Ultralight Prayer” pushed out as a Kanye West track when you only here Kirk Franklin & Background vocals. (Don’t trip, I’m sure Kirk produces, composes, directs, legally involves himself, leverages his personal brand, and steers all of his musical offerings, so I’m sure there’s no malice with his music being pushed as “Kirk Franklin” offerings)
