Lynxxx’ recent conversion raises interesting questions about whether artists can claim they serve God and still produce secular music. You hear it all the time on the podium at award shows –
I would like to thank God, my family, my manager etc.
Yet, the song they won the award for glorifies almost everything the Ten Commandments told us not to do. It’s a doublespeak that Lynxxx obviously feels he can’t deal with, so he’s sticking to one side. We want to revisit the topic of salvation, but rather than x-raying Lynxxx’ music once again, let’s instead take a trip down memory lane to see some of those who obeyed The Call just like Lynxxx and marched to the beat of a different drum after publicly giving their life to Christ.
William Onyeabor
For the unitiated, William Onyeabor is a funk/electronic musician born in the mid 40’s. He emerged after the Biafra war telling stories from his Enugu studios decrying conflict and detailing the war from an Easterner’s perspective. Onyeabor’s music was special not only for its content but also because of the way he manipulated advanced analog synthesizers to produce electronic music, which was relatively novel at the time.
Onyeador is a huge deal among sections of music lovers in the West. Vice/Noisey actually released a short documentary about his music last year titled “Fantastic Man” but they couldn’t get William himself to contribute. After releasing his eighth and final album Anything You Sow in 1985, the singer went public with his belief in God and refused to say another word about his music ever since.
Adewale Ayuba
Fuji artist, Adewale Ayuba popularly known as Mr. Johnson, is proof you’re never too old to turn your life around – he became born again when he was in his mid-40’s.
The most interesting thing about his journey is that Adewale was actually born a Muslim and when he initially got converted, a number of Islamic clerics tried to talk him out of it.
I remember I had a lot of Islamic clerics who came to pray for me and when they left, I would still go to my room to read the Bible.
Adewale didn’t go public with the news of his conversion immediately and he hasn’t exactly switched “bonsue “fuji for gospel music either. He released the remix to his classic song “Happy People” featuring Vector and Tm9ja in 2013.
Onyeka Onwenu
Onyeka was nicknamed the Elegant Stallion in her heyday in the 80’s as an elite level performer but she’s since gone on to have a career that spans music, acting, broadcasting and politics.
Onyeka had initially started out as a secular artist when she was still a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). She recorded a number of projects in funk, soul, pop and disco but her 1988 album Dancing in the Sun was a marked departure from her previous work, as Onyeka embraced gospel music more and more. Today, Onyeka transcends genres – she is gospel enough to get invited to churches to speak and perform but at the same time, worldly enough to be made a judge on the 2013 edition of the X-Factor.
Chris Okotie
I remember Chris Okotie’s first bid to run for President in 2003 under the Justice Party. I was conversing with an uncle who attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) around the same time as Pastor Chris and he wasn’t impressed. According to him, Chris was the socials prefect in school and as he evolved from socials prefect, to star artist to pastor to presidential-aspirant, the transition was too much for him and some of his peers. However, salvation is personal and Chris Okotie’s walk with the Lord is between Chris and his Maker.
Chris Okotie, or Kris Okotie as he was known at the time, gained a significant following in the 80’s through his bold and refreshing style of music but by 1987, the singer founded a church and started amassing a following of a different kind. These days, Pastor Okotie is one of Nigeria’s most popular televangelists and the Oga at the Top at the Household of God Church. He has run for the highest office in the land two other times but other than that and being the pastor, choir master and entire choir of his church, Chris has all but kissed the limelight goodbye.