Contemporary gospel music rises to glory

By Kenfrey Kiberenge

Gospel musicians are slowly elbowing their secular counterparts to win a place in the hearts of Kenyans.

It is a revolution of sorts that may leave secular musicians playing catch up.

The ongoing change is akin to the one that swept the country in late 1990s. It saw music by artistes such as E-sir and Nameless replace old school tracks by Daudi Kabaka and Sukuma bin Ongaro on TV and radio programmes.

Today, several Christian radio stations have been launched and TV stations have segments for gospel music. Local gospel artistes are also sneaking into the programmes of secular music, sometimes topping charts there.

Unlike their secular counterparts, who have allowed Tanzanian and Ugandan music to invade their territory, local gospel artistes have managed to guard their ‘territory’.

Receptive public

The revolution is anchored on a receptive public, an interested media and gospel musicians themselves.

Mavuno Spread the Love Festival, which is being headlined by US gospel artiste Kirk Franklin at the Carnivore Gardens today, is proof gospel music has undergone transformation. The show brings together who is who in the music industry among them MOG, Rose Muhando, Kanjii, Chit Chat, Neema Ntalel, Juliani Jimmie Gait, VUC, Kambua, Mbuvi, Esther Wahome, Jemimah Thiong’o and Saintz, among others.

Jimmie Gait	Rose Muhando	Esther Wahome

Denver Kahia, the producer of Off The Hook — a gospel show that is aired on KTN every Sunday — believes secular artistes could be hurt badly by the revolution.

"Gospel music is the way to go and in the next few years, it is going to be the leader in the country if other musicians are not careful," he says.

Mbuvi, who scooped the Traditional Song Of The Year award at this year’s Groove Awards, says gospel musicians are releasing some of the best songs in the county.

"If you look at the charts today, even secular ones, you will find songs by Jimmie Gait, Juliani, MOG and Daddy Owen, among many others. And you will also find that these songs will remain as the most memorable for this year," says Mbuvi.

Secular artistes such as Nameless, Wahu, Nonini, Mejja and Jua Cali are riding high with new hits, but songs such as No Letting Go by MOG, Muhadhara by Jimmie Gait, Wimutheru by Allan Aaron and Hela by Juliani are causing ripples in the entertainment circles.

Gospel music producer R-Kay (Robert Kamanzi) says gospel artistes are working harder than before. "Previously, they used to do it for fun and as pastime. Now, they are taking it as a career and they are going for excellence," he says.

Gait, who is basking in glory with his latest release Huratiti, remembers nostalgically when there was only one gospel programme on KBC. "I went for years without making anything tangible from my music. Today, I am blessed enough to confirm that I live off my music," says the musician, who won the Song Of The Year, Songwriter Of The Year, and Cellulant Ringtone Of The Year at the Groove Awards.

He says the public is now more receptive to gospel music and corporate organisations have also given artistes the much-needed nod.

Denver says the undoing for most gospel artistes was substandard soundtracks and poor quality videos.

"No one was willing to invest in them as a result. But today, they have upped their game and it is even easier to convince a media house to air a gospel programme," he states.

Mbuvi argues gospel artistes have always released great songs but they had failed to catch the attention of the media. "We had musicians such as Rufftone, Shammah and Henrie Mutuku who were releasing good music but no one noticed them," he says.

He argues it took a bold move by a local TV station to launch a gospel show for the media fraternity to embrace the industry after witnessing the success.

"Some TV stations had thought that by having a Christian show you would isolate some people, but this turned out to be the exact opposite," he adds.

Modern beats

And unlike in the past when gospel artistes restricted themselves to conservative type of music, they are releasing contemporary genres ranging from ragga, hip-hop and zouk to Lingala and Kapuka.

R-Kay acknowledges the adoption of modern beats and dance styles in gospel songs has contributed immensely to its adoption.

"Nine years ago, gospel music was boring and we had to shed that tag," he points out.

He adds that what matters in a song is the message and not the beat.

Denver and Gait concur, saying music should be judged by the content and not the beats.

"Music is music at the end of the day," says Denver.

To Gait, gospel artistes are trying to be as current as possible and this has paid off.