CELEB BUZZ: Will the real gospel artistes please stand up?

It’s high time I raised my concerns about Kenyan gospel artistes.

A few Kenyans have been complaining lately about the state of gospel music, including Jalang’o whose lamentations triggered a strong reaction from Size 8. He was right.

Gospel music in Kenya has changed for the worse. It is no longer uplifting and nourishing. It’s just a cocktail of beats, dance and absurd wordplay.

If you observe the born-again-but-with-crazy-hairstyle artistes without sunglasses of adoration tinting your impression or a pedestal of obsession obstructing your view, you’ll realise they are jokers.

READ: Gospel artistes not singing Christ enough?

STRIPPED OF GOD’S WORD

Using gospel music for entertainment and partying is fine. Taking gospel music and stripping it of the word of God is not. As fans, we are being fed gospel music that is harmful to the eardrums and the soul because we adore celebrities but don’t call them out enough when they are wrong.

We have become like that old teacher in school whose humility the students take advantage of because they are confident they won’t get any serious repercussions if they mess up.

The trouble with gospel music is the musicians. The creators. Most of them are more interested in being famous than in preaching holy living through their music.

Why Don Moen’s music is balm to my soul

Take Bruz Newton of the “Zigwembe” hit song for example. He recently shared a picture of himself standing next to a female fan as she took a selfie with him. What message was he trying to pass across? That all the ladies loved him?

SOCIAL MEDIA BIGWIGS

Then there’s Bahati. Once upon a time, he used to dispatch proper life-changing messages. Nowadays, he’s just a social media bigwig. It’s as if ‘Mtoto Wa Mama’ realised he isn’t releasing good music anymore, so he is using his family as a tool to keep himself relevant. It’s all he does these days, posting about his family.

Size 8 is another gospel artiste who spends more time flaunting her family and vlogging than composing music.. What went wrong? She even released a rap song that flopped. If only she could focus and give us more songs like “Afadhali Yesu”, the world would be a better place.

Moving on to Willy Paul. He needs to decide if he is a bongo flava or gospel artiste at once. What’s with all the songs about women?

With Ringtone, where do I even begin? His recent songs have been good, especially “Tenda Wema” in which he featured the lovely Cristina Shusho. However, his behavior has been dubious. Buying Zari, a car? I am not sure if it was new but even a second hand Range Rover costs over two million. With that kind of money, you can take two or three poor kids to school.

SENSELESS DANCE SONGS

I‘d now like to address “Odi Dance” hit makers Timeless Noel, Hype Ochi and Jabidii too. They seem like cool guys but they should be held responsible for opening the floodgates of dance songs that have nothing to do with praise and worship. Ever since they released “Odi”, more and more senseless dance songs are coming out of the woodwork.

Another artiste called Kennon released a song called “Kama Pupu”. It’s basically about flashing the devil down the toilet. Listening to it is like watching paint dry. The fact that exists is irresponsible. I have a theory that US authorities use this song to torture terrorism suspects until they reveal where the mastermind is hiding. 

All is not lost though. In the vast wasteland of poor gospel, amid the litter there are those who remain true to the word. Occasionally, a serious artiste releases a song that is both thoughtful enough and catchy enough that it cuts through the noise.

Congratulations to the artistes who still embody the true meaning of Gospel. Mercy Masika, Daddy Owen and Gloria Muliro, I see you. The rest of you can go dance Odi in the church corner.