The revolution of Gospel music

When people hear about gospel music that means songs you hear in a church, sang by a choir and things like that. The gospel music we listen to today carries the same message; Jesus, but sounds nothing like the way it did some decades ago. Back in the day people used drums and other local instruments to give the songs some flavor. Who would have known that music studios would take over and have people singing gospel songs that almost seem secular? For a long time now gospel music has been in churches only. The thought of playing it elsewhere that did not hold the same significance as a church was absurd. In this era it is a different story. Though some people argue that night clubs are no place for gospel music to be played, it hasn’t stopped the deejays from playing the songs. Besides, in my opinion that is where the message needs to be spread the most because who other than Jesus himself associated most with sinners? I don’t understand why mere humans can be so judgmental. Who gives them the right anyway? People dance for celebration, whether it’s life they are celebrating or simply joy. Should it really matter where these songs are played? When dance groups had just started out, no one ever thought of dancing to gospel because it was meant for the church and was sung in the most peaceful way. If you’ve listened to Kirk Franklin’s Stomp featuring rapper Salt from the rap group Salt n Pepper, you can swear it has nothing to do with gospel. That song was played not only on gospel radio stations or television programmes but in bars and nightclubs too. The music evolved and had more people getting into the gospel groove. More gospel artists and dance groups cropped up. Gospel is no longer looked at as boring and ‘un funky’ and it is enjoyed a great deal the world over. The word can be spread in a more entertaining way without people dozing off in churches and loosing moral to go back to church. Even the church choirs in most of these churches have upped their game and put some more rhythm and bounce back into the songs. I remember in Sister Act 1 when the church had lost its entire congregation because the choir was so boring. After the help of Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg), the choir had become nothing short of magnificent with all those songs turned into something everybody would enjoy hence the return of the ‘lost souls’. Some secular local artists have ventured into this music and recorded gospel songs that have turned out to be hits. And that is what people who are out and about are after, hits! No one wants to dance to a boring song so it doesn’t matter if the hit is gospel or not. This is the revolution of gospel music and a great revolution if you ask me! cjanzi83@yahoo.co.uk