February 11 will not just be another day in the music industry, especially when you're Kanye West as his latest album "Waves" (formerly known as "Swish") will be unveiled to the public.
Just like his previous albums, he has hauled in some serious collaboration efforts in the music industry and one of them is a very, very curious choice: Kirk Franklin.
He might not be a household name but he is one of the highly recognized talents in gospel music. The singer/songwriter/producer has won seven Grammy Awards including Best Gospel Song and Best Gospel Album "Hello Fear" according to Grammy's official website.
The Grammy-winning gospel singer was part of the group of musicians in the Instagram post of rapper 2 Chainz. A video snippet was also posted by "Team Kanye Daily" on Instagram also showed Kirk as part of the group listening to the music wearing the same outfit. Clearly, he is part of the album project or he just stayed in the studio for an extended amount of time to be with his friend.
Kirk Franklin's impact on the album may be more than just a featured artist. As a gospel singer, you have to put a stamp on your work and somehow it has influenced Kanye West's entire album. One of Kanye's latest Twitter post says that "Waves" is "actually a gospel album."
The statement from one of the great artists of his genre could mean millions of things but in this context, it could mean that the album would feature some Kirk Franklin-approved messages for everyone to hear.
The Guardian also revealed the tracklist of the upcoming album. The track list is divided into three or "three acts" and even though Kirk Franklin was never mentioned in any of the 11 tracks, it's possible that he is part of the early tracks of the album as they are titled "Father Stretch My Hands (Part I and II) as well as "Waves."
