Gospel artistes who aren’t spiritual can’t last, says Ayan Jesu

A gospel singer, Babatunde Ibigbabi, who is the lead vocalist of the group, Ayan Jesu, is of the opinion that gospel artistes who are not spiritual cannot stand the test of time.

He noted that such artistes could only be likened to a flash in the pan as they would lack substance and depth.

“The future of Yoruba gospel music is very bright. A lot of people are starting to have the awareness that if you are not truly spiritual, you cannot be relevant for so long. We have the likes of Baba Ayewa, Bola Are, Good Women Choir (of Odun lo’sopin fame), Ojo Ade, Timi Osukoya, Niyi Adedokun, and Sola Rotimi, who laid the foundation for what we are doing now. They had good lyrics, and were not just focusing on the beat. But, right now, all we hear are beats; the depth is really lacking.”

Speaking on the challenges faced by Ayan Jesu over the years, he said, “When we started over 20 years ago, our music was well accepted by our audience then. But, if you add 24 years to the age of the people that were listening to us now; your guess is as good as mine. These days, the ‘Gen Zs’ want fast beats, such as amapiano and the likes.”

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