News-One has an audio recording that captures UK-based Ghanaian international gospel star, Sonnie Badu, saying the songs of some of his fellow gospel musicians in Ghana simply do not make sense and also do not exalt God.
It is not clear whether the statement was one motivated by pride, loose talk or constructive criticism but Sonnie Badu attempted to justify his condemnation of his fellow gospel singers by saying their lyrics and rhythm are simply nothing to write home about as compared to gospel musicians from Nigeria or other parts of the world.
“We Ghanaians don’t have enough confidence to come out with certain things.
Let us take Nigerian songs for example; they are quite straight, simple, praising and thanking God for a lot of things but sometimes you listen to certain songs and you are thinking does all songs have to talk about death and I am struggling, and I am sick, and I am ill?
“The song doesn’t even make sense. You know…is it a normal reggae beat we have to keep it at?
Sometimes you listen to the lyrics and it is about ‘yare ye ya’ (ill health is painful) and all of that, it doesn’t exalt God,” Sonnie Badu stated.
Without mentioning specific names, Sonnie Badu advised the gospel musicians he was condemning to step up their game by working on the lyrics and rhythm of their songs. “What I would like to encourage them t do is to begin to take it easy on the lyrics and change the rhythm a bit and have more confidence in themselves…
There are awesome song writers and awesome pastors they can consult to write songs for them…they should go back to the old ones and learn,” Sonnie Badu noted.
He stated further that though there are some Ghanaian gospel singers who can make it to the international scene, their works are rather not celebrated as they ought to.
“I have done a lot of travelling and I realized that Ghanaians are great and we have awesome musicians. It is just that we the Ghanaian community need to know how to cherish our own and push them and not discourage them.
If Danny Netty does an album and it is not the hiplife sort of rhythm, apparently, that is not what the market needs. The market needs the quick hiplife thing. But to be honest with you, those kinds of songs don’t go on the international scene.
No, they don’t. Secondly we need to make use of our tradition. We‘ve got highlife music. We’ve got different stuff that white people are trying to learn from us. I think we need to learn how to encourage Danny Nettey, Nii Okai, Ike Narnor; they are great guys you can put on any international platform and they would deliver for you. It is as easy as that.”
Source: Halifax Ansah-Addo ([email protected])
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