Nigerian Afro-gospel singer and rapper, Samuel Onwubiko, professionally known as Limoblaze, has said the church is strongly opposed to his style of music.
He revealed this in a recent interview while talking about the challenges he faced in the early days of career. The artiste said also said that another challenge which confronted him was the lack of money.
Speaking on the future of the genre, Limoblaze asserts that in about 5 to 10 years, afrogospel and Christian Hip-Hop will be one of the biggest forms of gospel music.
He said; “I believe that anything good and worth doing will always come with challenges, so it was no surprise that for me to make a mark in the industry, I had to put in the work.
One of the challenges I faced when I started was money. Money is usually a challenge for people, regardless of whatever music space they are starting in.
“Also, one of the biggest challenges was the church. The church was against my style of music. A lot of churches are still against it, but there are more churches that are now in support, and understand the usefulness of this type of music as an evangelistic tool.”
“My style of afrogospel was born out of a place of need. I remember growing up in church and attending the weddings of church members, and the DJ would play secular music, which usually made me uncomfortable. So, I felt there was a need in the Christian community to have music that could serve our needs outside of worship music that is sung in church on Sundays. I also wanted to make music that young believers could enjoy from Monday to Saturday; and not just the ones to be played in church.”
“I believe that in the next 5 to 10 years, afrogospel and Christian Hip-Hop music will be one of the biggest forms of gospel music. I think it is also going to have mainstream success, as well as be an evangelistic and revival tool.”
