There is a revolution in the gospel music industry, one that has seen it break the glass ceiling, finally.
The kind of writing, production and overall packaging has gone through a shift from what used to rule the Christian radio airwaves back in the day, when a song was all about Jesus and the scriptures from the beginning to end.
Now the genres and writing style are being done in such a way that one finds the song preaching about God but also speaking to a listener about the other aspects of life.
The era of Yesu Beera Nange from beginning to end is slowly being phased out, although there is a crop of musicians still doing the proper worship music and doing it well.
Brian Lubega’s Nnungamya, Wegukubira and Olw’ebirungi Byokola are, for example, incomparable. But according to singer, songwriter and producer Samuel Kiggundu aka Sami K, gospel music has evolved with the needs of society.
“Back in the day, it was about going to church, praying and that was it; but today people have different needs and demands; so, gospel music is following the trends to address them,” he says. Sami K also believes Uganda is a now a Christian nation; so, the message needs to be more specific about accepting Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Saviour.
He also notes the need to cross over and commercialize is also impacting the music coming out of studios. This means the quality has to meet the industry needs and this involves money.
Emmanuel Edwin Kusasira, popularly known by his stage moniker Coopy Bly, has reached many with his unconventional writing style and dancehall delivery with songs such as Sidda Mu Kyalo and his latest, Akikwasaganya, winning several awards including song of the year at the recently-concluded Victoria Gospel Academy (VIGA) awards.
To Coopy Bly, it is about the versatility in the industry, which he describes as “a good thing”. He notes that the most important issue is sticking to the message.
“The way you preach the gospel can be different, as long as we are not watering down the message,” he says.
He also believes the desire to reach out to a wider group of people or a certain target audience dictates the final output.
“The way you package the message for members of Parliament, Sunday school children and street children is different,” he says.
Clearly, not many understood Akikwasaganya when it first hit the airwaves. The word is street lingua for “He who handles my issues”.
Jennifer Ochwo, the manager for gospel artiste Solome Basuuta, believes the fusion of local with an urban/modern feel to the music is inevitable if it is going to reach and have an impact on the new generation.
She says Christians have other needs including love, handling marital issues, money, among others, and singers are taking a bold step to address them through song disregarding the backlash such songs may bring. She mentions Kimera’s Slow Down as one of those songs.
Already preachers are addressing all these other issues, including love, healthy living, marriage and prosperity at the pulpit, without removing God and Jesus Christ from the equation. Singers in the gospel genre are following suit.
Exodus’ Ganjaman, just like American Kirk Franklin’s 1990s Stomp, received a lot of backlash for being appealing to secular audiences as well, but he defended it saying he needed to take the light to those in the dark too, not just the converted.
Right now, his Igwe, Ruyonga’s God DNA, Solome’s Nz’ani and Levixone’s Jungle, among others, are playing beyond the traditional gospel music realm thanks to the evolution and bold moves being made by the acts.
And the talent in church is astoundingly amazing, as lately gospel music is even sampling genres such as jazz and blues, not to mention our own LugaFlow.
As a result, there are also more gospel artistes reaping financial success from singing for God, which was unheard of in the past. From old-skool acts such as Isaiah Katumwa, Judith Babirye, Pastor Wilson Bugembe, Julie Mutesasira and Exodus, to new acts such as Solome, Kimera, Ruyonga, Levixone and Coopy Bly, there is now proof that good gospel music can pay the bills and more.
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