To sing or not to sing gospel music

On Monday evening, local music followers were surprised with a Facebook post of renowned gospel artist Shammah Vocals which suggested he is taking a backseat in music.

“I think I don’t fit to be a gospel musician, so until then I will not be active. Thank you,” he wrote.

The post generated a lot of interest with most of his followers wondering what may have prompted the No Reverse creator to claim so.

But in an interview yesterday, Shammah Vocals, appeared to disown the post, claiming that his Facebook account had been hacked.

He said: “I am not the one who shared that. I don’t have access to my page at the moment and I am trying to reclaim it.”

However, his disowning of the post was not enough to deter The Nation from engaging Shammah Vocals on his views of one’s eligibility to be a gospel musician. He said everyone is called to serve God, thus as long as one is human they are welcome.

“Everyone can do gospel music. There is no special requirement to serve God. Of course, when one is a born-again it puts you at an advantageous position because it is about preaching. In doing that, you have to know the word and who you are serving,” he said.

Few weeks ago, urban music star Temwah hogged the limelight with the release of her song Tumeni. Some sections questioned her association with gospel music.

But in an interview yesterday Temwah said the tendency of judging people based on music genres is wrong.

She said everyone is free to do any type of music because at the end of the day it is about the talent which is a God-given gift.

Temwah said: “Although I do other type of music, I am a Christian. For things to work out for me I pray to God and I therefore see no reason I should not sing songs that exalt his name. It doesn’t require one to be a born-again to sing gospel. It is about what you feel.”

On his part, musician Faith Mussa said: “If gospel means good news, I believe anyone is free to sing Gospel music.. It glorifies God not man. So, who is man to judge. It is none of man’s business.”

In his Facebook post, one music fan identified as Nathan Malimba, argued that it is not proper to restrict gospel music to a certain group of people.

“The funny thing is that those we consider not to be saved or born-again, when they make gospel music it carries something extra. I don’t even know why. Is it because we see it as new or it is just God at work?,” he said.