The Church: The Nigerian Artiste’s First Music Academy
You may have thought about it before now. You’re right. The church is an academy
If you find Nigerian musicians or music producers today, there is a high possibility that the church played a key role in their ascent. That story is never complete without that beginning at the church.
The Choir practice and Sunday worship is where it first happens. The hymn songs build the interest. There’s a gentle construction of fate with the love of faith. The world will come to listen to an artiste built on the corners of the biggest platforms in the house of the lord- singing, training and being taught on the basics of music. That’s where the dream is set.
Suffice to say the growth of Nigeria’s music industry will never be complete without mentioning the church as a key part of the rise. Before every formal academy, those talents are burnished through the choir practice. Singers are known and taught, instrumentalists are discovered, helped and that’s where some people find their first desire for music production.
Virtually every Nigerian music producer I’ve listened to or read his story started from the church. It started from playing the instruments, building an ear for sounds, finding those thin lines between the drum sounds, establishing a rhythm for the choristers.
Every music talent show in Nigeria today is a floor for products of the church. There’s hardly any contestant who denies their first influence - the church on the street.
The street is another strong influence of Nigeria’s music culture, but the refinement seen in many music stars in the country today has its basis in the church and this has been in existence since time immemorial.
“I started from the church. Pretty much everyone’s story right?” Adekunle Gold confirmed in an interview with Hunger TV.
Born to an Islamic family, AG said his first experience of music was in the choir.
“My dad allowed us to go to church and I say allow because he was a Muslim and our mum at the time was also a Muslim but my dad was a liberal man and he saw religion as education as well so it was ok for him to allow us to go to church for us to just learn. But while I was in church I joined the teen choir and that’s where my interest in music developed.”
When you talk to musicians, the blown and the yet-to-blow, the ones who are bursting the charts and the uncharted, the successful and the yet-to-be successful, their origins are very similar. They all have a link or the other to the church. It’s the dwelling place of their future.
Nigeria and Africa’s biggest music star today, Wizkid also came from this glorious academy. His first music group was with a “couple of his church friends” according to an interview with Factory 78.
The finest vocalists in the country all have their roots from the same academy of faith which has relentlessly built futures year on year. While there’s a discord (of sorts) between the eventual choices of these many products and what the church preaches, there’s no denial as to the importance of the place of the church in Nigerian music.
That the Spirit Leads
There’s massive respect for faith in Nigeria. It’s part of the popular culture and when you are not associated to a faith, you’re probably seen from a totally different light. Faith is first nature to an average Nigerian.
The respect for gospel music in Nigeria is massive. It gains massive airplay and has a great replay value when the quality is good. Gospel artistes like Nathaniel Bassey, Sinach, Mercy Chinwo, Tope Alabi, Frank Edwards, Chioma Jesus, Lara George, Nikky Laoye, Shola Allyson, Dunsin Oyekan etc are household names in Nigeria.
Despite the great strides of Afrobeats in the global music discourse, gospel artistes are a different league of extraordinarily successful people too. Their market is wide and the same ears that listen to Afrobeats with some of its interesting profanity, vulgarity and the sweet street-built lingo are the same ears that recall their faith with gospel songs. When they get into the world with the electronics of Amanpiano, they come back home on that Sunday morning with that slow, spirit-leading voice that goes into the heart. There’s an interesting connection. Afrobeats and Gospel music are substitutes, at different times, in different emotions, and during different periods. It’s a healthy, unstated competition but one that doesn’t affect collaboration.
Sinach
Sinach’s ‘Way Maker’ has more than 200m YouTube views. Not many African artistes have managed such numbers. The song was released in 2015 and has been translated to more than 50 languages since then. What do you call a hit song of global reputation again? And that’s the church.
Afro-Gospel: Between Faith and Fame
There’s a lopsided consensus in the country that gospel artistes don’t make money or are not famous. Nigerians don’t joke with spirituality and that naturally means there’s desire for gospel songs.
Their concerts are filled and gospel artistes are respected and valued.
We’ve seen Chidinma go from gospel to Afrobeats to gospel and there’s still the touch of the church in the Nigerian music culture. Artistes now infuse a part to their faith in their projects. The soulfulness of the spirit and the pop appeal can be found in what Cobhams Asuquo does with his music. It touches base between different worlds, miscible yet unique in their rights.
Davido’s ‘Stand Strong’ reshapes the narrative of expectations even from contemporary African music superstars. He took the world back to the church with that song and Sunday Service Choir made that experience worthwhile, yet it’s not a gospel song.
Burna Boy and many others have also sampled the sounds of musical groups, built from a strong list of choral artistes in his songs. In ‘Bank On It’ on his ‘Twice as Tall’ album, Burna Boy employed the services of gospel group, 121 Selah in a combination that’s almost spotless. 121 Selah have a Grammy certification. That’s the impact of collaboration.
Bank on It, which is not a gospel song, has reignited the spirituality in many artistes and has shown them there can be a healthy mix of gospel sounds, Afrofusion and Afrobeats. It’s such a pleasure to hear.
Excellent Nigerian vocalists like Yemi Alade, Waje, Omawumi, Niniola, Simi, and many others all have their roots in the church and they never deny their humble beginnings.
Just this week, Bnxn (fka Buju) revealed his desire to collaborate with legendary gospel singer, Tope Alabi and what becomes of that is yet to be seen.
The competition for people’s hearts through their choice of music was the main basis for some disconnection at some point. It almost became a clash of the spirits but even contemporary artistes have revealed the spiritual side to their creativity in the process of making music.
Nigeria is blessed with so many people in music and it is just outstanding how everyone of them has a story to tell about a time in church. It’s the nursery for an industry that has become a global specimen and one whose potential and impact will outlive its biggest voices. The Afrobeats story and the growth it currently enjoys will not be complete without the house of God. Won’t you praise the lord?
I love that part of them being in the world weekdays and coming back to their faith on Sundays...More insights bro