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Nigeria will be a better place if gospel artistes live up to their calling – Tobey Albert

Adegunju Oluwatobiloba, better known as Tobey Albert isn’t a novitiate in the circle of gospel artistes. The recording and performing artiste told YUSUFF ADEBAYO about his musical sojourn while highlighting the prospects and challenges of the gospel music industry in Nigeria. Excerpts…

 

 

 

 

 

How would you describe your sound?

 

My kind of music, I can say is soul music and contemporary gospel. You know, I talk basically about things happening around us. How did you get into doing music? I can say it is right from childhood. I grew up in the choir of a non-Pentecostal church and from there moved to discovering my talent. So, I developed and nurtured it and then decided to explore. That’s it.

 

Who or what are your early influences in music?

I would say that’s my dad. Growing up was fun. Whenever we were going to school in the morning, Daddy played King Sunny Ade’s music because he is a lover of his music. The reason I said growing up was fun is whenever King Sunny Ade was singing most times with proverbs; of course, I didn’t know the meaning of what he was saying but I just enjoyed it. Funnily enough, all those times, whenever I listened to those songs, I sang it as if I knew what he was talking about. For the most part, I thought King Sunny Ade is a young guy. So, people like that are people that inspired me into doing music, loving music and making me believe that whatever it is that I want to preach to the world, I can do that through my music. So, I grew up loving music from King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and others.

 

So, at what point did you become convinced that you were cut out to do music?

Actually, it’s the point when I realised that I had become more acceptable and people tend to be more attracted to me when they know that I sing especially when they hear me sing. So, I can say music has taken me to places that I never thought I would be. If I wasn’t doing music, there are so many doors that wouldn’t have opened for me.

How has the journey been since you started out professionally?

The journey hasn’t been smooth actually. Of course, beyond the fact that it’s a talent, I realise that music is my purpose and my line of passion. So, if you have the passion to do something, the challenges on the way shouldn’t be reasons why you should quit. That has kept me going.

 

What moment would you consider the highlight of your career so far?

 

That would be when I released my last jingle titled ‘Jehovah’ which I featured Babatunmise on. I think the song opened me to so many opportunities. It made a lot more people believe in me and know me well. I went on a tour. I became more acceptable to people through that particular song and I still hope to do better.

 

Let’s talk about that track. It had Babatunmise on it obviously. Tell me the process of producing that record. At what point did you decide to feature him on the song?

 

What was the recording process like? Well, ‘Jehovah’ is a song that was inspired by God. I just wanted to do a song where I could praise God for what he has done in my life. When I got the inspiration about the song, the Holy Spirit told me that I need to feature someone. So, when I studied the song and the kind of artiste that could jump on it, my mind went to Babatunmise. I had to pray. I called my producer, HebbyMix. I recorded the first part of the song and Hebby was asking where is the second part? I told him I’m featuring someone on it and the person is Babatunmise. He said are you sure? And I said yes. So, I called Babatunmise and he was willing to get on it. I knew everything was through the help of the Holy Spirit because I didn’t even go through any stress at all. Babatunmise himself was very much in love with the song. He jumped on it and it was amazing. So, all thanks to God, to him and to my producer.

 

How interesting is it being a gospel artiste in a soundscape like ours where gospel music is sectional?

I won’t lie to you. It has not been interesting at all. It has been challenging because in the early 60s and 70s, we were told that gospel was very vibrant. That was because then, they had record companies and not just record labels. For those who wanted to explore music then, record labels usually ask them if what they wanted to do was Juju, Fuji or Gospel. That shows that gospel was in demand then. And if you watch Television stations back then, there were no restriction to what they could show. They didn’t have the NBC restrictions on religious content. It’s not the same now. That’s a major setback. See, people cannot love what they don’t constantly see and hear. It’s what they hear and see that they’ll follow and like. That’s why you see many people shifting from singing religious songs to something motivational or inspirational so that they can get airplays. So, we face so many challenges. There’s no enough platform for gospel. It hasn’t been interesting honestly but we believe that with God by our side, we’ll be able to make it better.

 

Gospel music is different. It is conscious music. There is a line between spirituality and the need to entertain. How do you draw that line and ensure that you don’t cross it?

This is a very sensitive question and I think I’m actually interested in talking about it. See, this is 21st century. Technologies and so many things around us are advancing by the day. People tend to see gospel musicians as gods. In that sense, they judge the things we do. As a gospel artiste, you always have to think of ‘oh, people will say this and that’. That makes you want to refrain from doing certain things. But you know what, the real fact is the rules of Christianity are regular rules that cut across different areas of our lives. As a gospel artiste, when it comes to spirituality, it’s not between men and men. It’s between men and God. The people’s factor is one very big thing which I don’t bother myself about. As a gospel artiste, your spirituality is between you and your God not between you and people. So, when we say gospel being conscious music, that’s for man to judge. So, I sing and do my music. Those who accept it will and those who will not, won’t accept it. You’re not ice cream. Not everyone will accept you in any case.

 

Does this constant subjection of your music to religious rules affect your creative process? Have you had a moment when you felt like writing your music a certain way but decided not to because it will sound offensive to some within the Christian faith?

 

Yes definitely! A gospel music should not abuse the sense of morality. Once it does, then that’s not gospel anymore. We shouldn’t just bear the name Christian. We must act it.

 

 

And what’s the state of gospel music in Nigeria right now? As an artiste, how are things in that space with artistry, mainstream acceptance, funding, revenue generation and what could be better?

You see, the platform we chose to express ourselves which is gospel is poorly encouraged. No record label operates as a gospel label and the nongospel ones rarely sign gospel artistes. Also, Christian records in most cases are heard only on Sundays as Radio DJ and TV hardly play gospel during the rest of the week. What this does to us is we are left to do things on our own. We produce the song, promote the song, market it; all on our own. That’s the biggest challenge of gospel artistes in Nigeria. It’s tough. I know a lot of talented gospel artistes but they don’t have the platform. Corporate organisations that pay well do not invite us for performances at their event and Christian events do not even pay well either. The broadcast media also do not encourage us by playing our songs even after you’ve worked with the best producer to produce the song and shoot videos. It’s almost like, look, there’s no time for your message. Meanwhile, I believe Nigeria will be a better place if gospel artistes live up to their calling. We need more support from the government and the media.

 

Being aware of the challenges facing gospel artistes and the chances of becoming more embraced if you switch from gospel to secular music, have you ever considered that at any point?

 

I grew up in Church where gospel music is everything. I’ve known from childhood that I wanted to do gospel music even though I listen to diverse genres. So yeah, the love for gospel came naturally and I can’t switch to secular for any reason.

 

So, are there any projects coming from you that we should be excited about?

 

Yes, I have projects coming up soon. I’m working on a single which will be released very soon. I featured one of Nigeria’s most sought after gospel artistes on it. The second thing is my annual concert which is coming up in April next year. It’s going to be the best of all.

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