Gospel or secular? 14 artistes who have made the switch; is it a commercial

When Amani announced that she had gotten saved, few made much of the statement. After all she had taken a music hiatus and few missed her. Typically, some critics suggested that she was simply looking for a soft landing. Others dismissed her, saying her time as a secular singer was over.

It is usually the same script for secular artistes who get saved; many give them a timeline, waiting to see how long they will last in the faith.

While some managed to keep the fire burning, it has been an uphill task for others to keep theirs going and it soon fizzled out, in the full glare of news-hungry fans, gossip columnists and paparazzi. Accusations of dishonesty and ulterior motives have been a thorn in the flesh of secular artistes who become born again.

Then there is the oft-repeated belief by most people that these artistes go gospel in search of fame and money, after all, the gospel industry is perceived to be more lucrative.

There are secular artistes with a big name across the country but gospel artistes tend to make a lot more money because their music is not offensive. This means even corporates consider them ‘safe’, not to mention the regular Christian shows.

Top all of that with the successful Groove Tour and Awards, one of the most successful award shows in Kenya and it would all make strategic sense.

Walking the straight and narrow is not easy, especially if you were the wild type who enjoyed life and took licence to do pretty much whatever you want.

SIZE 8

Linet Munyali, popularly known as Size 8, kicked things off with her change from secular to gospel music. Many were left in shock as she was doing well with one hit after another, from Vidonge to Moto. As she opened up, she confessed to a life of depression, dissatisfaction and unhappiness, beneath that seemingly happy showbiz life.

Size 8 went on to marry renowned gospel decks master, DJ Mo and the naysayers quickly suggested that she had gotten saved so she could marry him. However, she has continued to prove sceptics wrong and has replicated her success in the gospel scene with songs like Afadhali Yesu, Mateke and Moto wa Yesu; proving that she is on a mission to inspire and spread God’s word.

Amani

Amani had been away from the scene for a while and many were beginning to wonder what had happened to her. Speculation was rife that she was secretly settling down.

Recently she resurfaced saying she is now born again. She is adamant in the belief that everything happens in God’s time and that she is taking her step of faith.

Marya

This Chokoza singer has also been off the radar for quite a while. Her breakup with Colonel Moustapha and her brief stint of hits afterwards were there for all too see.

She took a break to work on her business, which did not pan out. sShe later got pregnant and welcomed her son before suffering from post-partum depression after the birth, which she says it is one of the most difficult things she has ever been through. She has now decided to get born again and go the gospel way.

Wahu

When Wahu released her beautiful song Sifa late last year, she got tongues wagging. Many assumed that she had once again schooled gospel artistes on how to write good songs to praise God while others speculated that she might have gotten saved.

During one interview, she cleared the air and indeed confirmed that she had dedicated her life to Christ.

Cece Sagini

Cece Sagini actually started out in music as a gospel artiste but somewhere along the way she switched camps. Her first gospel song was Sio Mwisho, which was released in 2013 and she also collaborated with Jimmy Gait for the song Appointment.

Along the way she went under for some time before making a comeback when she featured in Octopizzo’s I’m a Doer, which announced her arrival in the secular world. She got married to photographer Victor Peace and has since gone back to her gospel roots, admitting that she was brought up in a Christian background but had been blowing hot and cold.

She has released a gospel song, Come Down, marking her new chapter in the gospel industry.

DNA

DNA first came on to the secular scene with his hit song Banjuka, which was a certified club banger. He then got immersed in the all-too familiar tragedy in the secular industry of alcoholism.

After his recovery, he appeared to have seen the light and released a gospel song Mtoto wa Sonko featuring Kambua and Isaac Kahurah.

This did not last as he came back with Maswali ya Polisi and featured in the remix of Dumbala and Fimbo Ya Pili. In a radio interview, the hit maker admitted to sliding back into drinking.

DNG

The radio presenter and MC calls himself the number one hype man in Kenya. The Kora award winner was once the golden boy of the gospel scene, before falling off the bandwagon, dabbling in secular and finally opting to be an MC and presenter.

His personal life has not been without drama, from a hyped engagement that sadly ended in a failed marriage, to claims of harassment.

The line that he was buying the alcohol for friends quickly unravelled when he was caught out on different occasions enjoying a pint.

He would eventually come out openly declaring that he couldn’t take it any longer in the gospel scene and that he is now full-time in the secular scene.

Willy Paul

With the launch of his label, Saldido records, we broke the news here last week that the singer is set to ink a deal with Diamond’s Wasafi records as Diamond looks to spread his wings and expand his record label to East Africa.

Willy Paul seems to have dropped his gospel tag late last year, when performing at the third annual Pulse Music Video Awards he was introduced to the stage without the ‘gospel musician’ tag.

The well-known controversial musician has done what this paper predicted he would: move to secular music.

Lady Bee

Introduced to the music industry by Nonini, who said that she was his cousin, the singer hasn’t had it all easy in the gospel scene but she’s been working trying to keep up with the pace.

In an interview with a local TV station the singer says that she had it all in the secular scene but no peace on the inside.

Her music career has been inspiring with several inspirational videos alongside her music videos posted in her YouTube channel to keep her fans updated with her well-being in the faith.

Bamboo

Together with Abbas they formed the pioneering duo K South and elevated the hip-hop scene to new level with their catchy rhymes.

The duo broke up and Bamboo left for the United States where his family lives. After coming back into the country he got born again, released few gospel songs but not long after the allure of the bottle couldn’t let him be; he backslid.

The on-and-off patter seems to be his thing as he has done it several times to a level where even a close member of his family confided that they no longer understand him.

Collo

For some time, he was the only visible guy of the Klepto trio before the return of Nyashinski who was in the United States.

‘King wa Rap’ as he often called himself says that his wife influenced his decision to crossover as she gave him an ultimatum that if he didn’t change she was going to leave him. His wife seems to have had her way.

Collo got born again and released Bazokizo, in which he features singer Bruz Newton, the song and dance did well, even winning them the coveted Groove Award. Not long after he released Jijue featuring Scooby the Lazy rapper.

Juliani

The contemporary rapper wasn’t having it easy doing secular music under Ukoo Flani group despite getting a chance to shine with them.

He saw the light and switched to gospel going ahead to release songs that topped the charts with his albums been lauded as some of the most well produced gospel hip-hop albums of all time.

Juliani, however, dropped the tag and his association with gospel music and has since started describing his music as “socially conscious”.

Namtero Mdee

The elder sister to Vanessa Mdee had a glamourous stint in showbiz with a successful TV and radio career but she, in what remains one of the biggest shocks, got up one day and quit her lucrative TV job.

She went off the radar with rumours that she had married a preacher. This was confirmed when she came back to the scene a completely changed person; from her dress code, type of music and even her name.

During the time Namtero changed tune and saw the light, she also got married to a Tanzanian evangelist-turned-prophet Hebron Kisamo and released her first single Taa ya Miguu Yangu last year.

Dunco

The ‘Kubamba’ Radio breakfast presenter had it all with his musical career but everything went south. The singer is alleged to have found new love for the bottle, making him abandon the gospel despite many denials. With a newfound job and new collaborations recently released, we can only hope that this time he will be able to keep it together in the faith for longer.