The Gospel Switch: What is pushing it?

Artiste Size 8 who switched from secular to gospel. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Some view it as the efforts of “washed out” artistes who are searching for relevance and financial gain.
  • Pastor Pete Odera says there are many secular artistes who are closet Christians.

The crossover to gospel by numerous secular artistes has been perceived as a desperate search for relevance. BONIFACE NYAGA looks into these famous conversions, the reactions they aroused and the untold back-stories.

 

In the recent past,  secular heavy weights like Collo, Lady B, Size 8, Wahu, Circute, Amani and Sabina Stadler have all jumped into the gospel bandwagon. Underneath the glaring headlines that often accompany these conversions is an untold story of what really happens behind the scenes.

While many have praised them for their move, some view it as the efforts of “washed out” artistes who are searching for relevance and financial gain.

Numbers do not lie, and they have all been pointing to the commercial success of gospel music in Kenya. In fact, the sector is doing so well that gospel industry professionals from Malawi, USA, and even Germany have come to Kenya to study it.

On the chats and on performance contracts, gospel artistes are signing their names to history. The lingering question on everyone’s mind is why are so many secular artistes switching to gospel; are they genuinely searching for God or just cashing in on the hype? Has the success of the gospel industry led to unintended consequences, such as attracting all the “wrong kind” of people?

“This negative perception comes from the fact that gospel music is doing well. So when you shift, everyone thinks that you are chasing money. Mine was a personal decision, I needed to change my life. I actually got saved in 2007, when “Juala” was a big hit, and I lost money because of my shift. If I was really after the money, it wouldn’t have taken me 10 years to release a song,” Circute, formerly of “Jo-el and Circut,” said.

The secular hitmaker turned pastor, Victor Gerald Wagana, was a major force in his days. His single “Juala” was as controversial as it was popular for its graphic content. News of his switch hit the airwaves a few years back and was received with absolute shock. He has since become a pastor and has recently released a gospel track, “Miracle”, under his new brand; Circuit Righteous.

“The gospel industry is divided into two, the gospel ministers and the gospel entertainers,” he admits. “There are many who are doing it for the money and I guess it’s getting harder to separate the real from the fake. I can vouch for most of the artistes who have switched, I know them personally.”

Singer Cece Sagini, who recently switched from secular to gospel music. PHOTO | COURTESY

Size 8, whose 2013 switch to gospel broke the internet, argues that time has vindicated her against her sceptics. She asserts that her conversion was not commercially motivated because she was already the top selling female artiste in East Africa.

At the time of her change, she had lucrative endorsements, multiple bookings, and various TV shows that she was hosting. Changing a brand that was already widely accepted by fans and sponsors alike, was a major gamble; many experts advised her against it. She said:

“I had to turn down a national tour with a beer company when I got saved. Over the years, I have left many contracts on the table because they were in conflict with my faith. The scepticism is actually nothing new, people doubted the apostle Paul when he converted, they doubted me and they will doubt the next artiste who makes the switch.”

To deepen her faith, Size 8 is currently in Bible school pursuing a certificate in Theology. She insists that her change was for real, arguing that she was a secular artiste for just three years while she has remained in the gospel fold for six.

Though she admits that the gospel fraternity does have a few rotten apples, she holds that the Bible is full of unsavoury characters that were used by God. In her view, bashing the wayward is neither productive nor Christian, instead she advocates for mentorship to guide them back to the fold.

As a founding father of Kenyan music and a practicing pastor, Pete Odera has journeyed with many local and international celebrities in their walk of faith. Though he cannot name them because they come to him in confidence, he admits that there are many secular artistes who are closet Christians. This he attributes to the fact that many talented Christians who came up back in the day, had to do secular music to make ends meet.

At the time, Gospel music was not a viable career and the church wasn’t receptive of their style of music, so they got into the mainstream. He argues that the new wave of commercial success in the gospel industry has encouraged many to come back to their roots, because they can now make a living doing what they love.

“If my walls would speak they would tell a story and a half, you would not believe the people that have shed tears on my carpet. I have had both local and global stars come to me in private, searching for answers; much like Nicodemus in the Bible sort Jesus at night,” Pete says.

“I have known Wahu since she was five years old, prayed with her in hospital wards, and seen the transition first hand. She was coming to our church long before she made the announcement, so it was not just a sudden decision.”

He, however, worries about the younger gospel artistes who seem to be more gullible to the hype. Many of them came up in the golden age of gospel music and don’t appreciate its roots or the struggle it took to come this far.

Amani is the latest in a long list of celebrities to join the gospel fraternity; leaving behind a 15-year legacy of hits. With only one gospel single to her name, she is now building her repertoire from scratch. She is however unfazed in her conviction and views her music more as a mission and not a career.

“As a public figure, people follow my every move and interpret things based on their experiences and background. I respect people’s opinion, and they have every right to doubt my intentions, but at the end of the day this was a personal decision. I am happier now and I have more peace. Spirituality is a very personal thing that supersedes any commercial gain or loss,” she says.

Intention is a hard thing to judge, and many will continue to pontificate the driving force behind these conversions. With the state of affairs in the gospel industry, there is good reason to doubt this new-found wave of salvation. In the end, however, time is the only qualified judge and jury that will separate the real from the pretenders.

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SOME OF THE MOVERS SO FAR

1. Collo

Collins Majale, the “Bazokizo” hitmaker, caused jitters among his fans with his decision to take a new direction after a long silence. He is thriving in the gospel scene with his first song garnering a lot of attention and, as the lyrics state, he had to get saved in order to live a better life.

2. Mr Googz

He turned to gospel music in 2005 after splitting up with friend and fellow secular musician Vinnie Banton back in 2004. Vinnie Banton would later join the gospel camp but is yet to release any gospel song. Mr. Googz now runs a church in Kiambu County.

3. Lady B

Her mellowed voice used to grace hits of legends such as Nonini back in her secular days. She finally ditched the secular world to focus on ministry and gospel music in 2016. She is a single mother to a gorgeous daughter and is riding high with some top spiritual songs.

5. Wahu

She made her gospel debut late 2017 shortly after her husband, Nameless, was hospitalised. The mother of two became prayerful after her husband was rushed to ICU and later discharged after a couple of days. She so far has two uplifting gospel songs one which narrates this experience.

7. DNG

The self-proclaimed number one hype man used to be a budding gospel artiste before abandoning his faith and joining the secular world. He has been rumoured to have gone back to his beliefs.

9. Marya

The gorgeous mother of one once recounted her tussle with post-partum depression after delivering her child. The “Chokoza” hit maker later made the decision to join the gospel world and abandoned her ties to secular music in late 2017.

10. Cece Sagini

Cece started off her career as a gospel singer, but further along started embracing secular music. She reconverted to Christianity and is believed to never be looking back ever since. She warmed hearts when she got married in 2017.

GEORGE D. MWENDWA