Politics
AN Ibadan-based gospel musician, Oluwapelumi Togun, on Thursday urged musicians to use the right lyrics in their songs.
Togun, popularly known as GudVybz, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan that youths generally accept whatever was presented to them.
“I believe youths accept whatever is presented to them if presented in a package that appeals to them. As the saying goes, if you want to serve tea to an Indian, you put it in an Indian tea cup.
“The gospel’s message is consistent, it doesn’t change, but the medium by which it is being communicated should be adaptable. Some gospel music acts have the message right but the medium of communication is untidy,” he said.
He added that there were tonnes of gospel acts dishing out excellent sounds and enjoying massive acceptance.
“There is no discrimination against excellence,” he said.
On whether gospel artists in Nigeria were getting as much leverage as their secular counterparts, he said it was a bit difficult to judge as the yardsticks were not the same.
“ A secular artiste positions himself or herself as the star and draws people’s attention to himself or herself, but a gospel artiste, being a musician who propagates the gospel with his or her music, ideally points his or her audience to Jesus, the Star, and draws their attention to God.
“Their success can’t be measured by the same parameters. That being said, there appears to be a gap somehow and I believe gospel artistes in Nigeria can obviously do more in order to be a voice that really counts in the scheme of things.
“Amidst other factors, I think the audience population served by these two groups, secular artistes and gospel artistes, has some dynamics to it.
“I have observed that a lot of people who listen to gospel music also listen to secular music while a very small group of people listen to gospel music alone and then the majority of music lovers listen to secular music and do not listen to gospel music.
“Hence, there is naturally a competitive advantage for secular music. Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.
“I believe if more gospel artistes take cognisance of purpose and do what we do with excellence, a lot will improve.
“I believe by doing so, a lot of people who hitherto do not accept gospel music will begin to find it irresistible,” he said.
The gospel artiste added that he was using good music to convey edifying messages with Hip-Hop and RnB flavour.
“If you call that Gospel Hip-Hop, you won’t be wrong. I have been doing music for quite a while actually.
“I remember doing my first studio recording during my early days in the university with the defunct Buckshotz Crew over 15 years ago,” he said.
NAN reports that GudVybz was one of the 36 national finalists that made it to the 2008 edition of Star Quest, a music reality TV show powered by the Nigerian Breweries’ Star Brand. His band, Tha Heritage Band, emerged first runner-up.
GudVybz said that the level of competence and exposure that he got from the show enabled him to launch his professional career as a recording artiste.
“Between that time and now, I’ have had four songs churned out, which includes “Sho njo Nkan,” released in 2009 while I was still doing secular music.
“My choice of songs is greatly influenced by the person that I am right now and the purpose for which I am convinced I’ve been trusted with this gift that I have.
“I strongly believe my gift is entrusted into my hands as an instrument of change. I know God has a need for what He has deposited in me and I’m simply allowing Him use it. I choose to allow God’s mind to find expression through my music,” he said. (NAN)
– Jun. 18, 2020 @ 15:45 GMT |
Tags: Deploy right lyrics in your songs gospel artiste tells colleagues
