The gospel industry used to be big three years ago (or so) but somewhere along the way, it was overtaken by the secular industry but have you ever wondered why? What happened? Where did the rain start beating them?
Also read: Are Kenyan gospel musicians asleep?
Well, I think I have a few pointers as to why. I feel that the gospel industry has remained stagnant for a very long time, save for Willy Paul, everyone sounds the same way they did when the gospel industry was at its peak. Don’t they though?
If there’s anything that I have learnt it’s that Kenyans get bored really fast. As such, artists have to find ways of making sure that whatever they are putting out is not monotonous. They need to switch up the sound every and then.
You see, the reason why the secular industry is doing well at the moment is because there is a new sound. Some people might have concerns about it but the fact is that most people find it entertaining. The truth is also that Kenyans will get bored with it a few years down the line.
The gospel sound has remained the same since time immemorial. Once in a while you’ll see someone taking a different approach but when they realise that it’s not working, they quickly switch back to their old styles and this should not be the case.
In as much as gospel songs are all about praising God and winning back people to Christ, it doesn’t mean that they should not have a small element of entertainment. Gospel songs should not really be all about crying from the time the songs starts to the end.
It’s about time our local gospel artists realized that we need something different. I don’t even know what they should do, I only know that they should do something. Enough said!
