Kanye's Stylish Pastor Releases DONDA-Designed Book

Kanye's friend and pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. receives love from DONDA for his new book.

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Image via Complex Original
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When Kanye West shared his vows with Kim Kardashian, he called on the pastor at Miami's Trinity Church (owner of Yeezys and overall stylish dude), Rich Wilkerson Jr., to officiate the ceremony. Roughly a year later, it looks like Kanye returned the favor to his friend, calling upon the enigmatic DONDA design team to create a cover for Wikerson Jr.'s first book.

The book, titled Sandcastle Kings: Meeting Jesus in a Spiritually Bankrupt World, is meant to help guide readers to genuine happiness and personal success through the teachings in the Bible. (Remember, Wilkerson Jr. is a pastor after all).

 

 

Wilkerson Jr. tells People"Kanye is a really good friend. We chat every week about different things: clothes, design, music, architecture, Jesus. He's an amazing artist and designer, and with my first book coming out, I thought it would be fun for him to design the cover." He continued, "I asked him if he wanted to do it, and he was all about it." 

It's not surprising that DONDA would be game to handle a book cover. The group has established itself as the "gold standard" for contemporary conceptual design, working on everything from album covers to the visuals for Kanye's live performances.

Utilizing the minimalism that's often found in other DONDA designs, the book cover's most astounding features are large "S" and "K" letters, done in a gothic style. Considering that Kanye recently received a tattoo based on the designs of gothic engraver Albrecht Dürer, it makes sense that Ye's team would draw inspiration from the German artist as well.

Needless to say, Wilkerson Jr. was happy with the final result.

"It looks more like art than a book cover," Wilkerson Jr. said. "It's clean, minimalistic, and simple, with big brush strokes. It's exactly what I hoped it would be." 

Sandcastle Kings is available on Amazon.

 

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