Mp3bullet.ng presents Nigerian Artists who left Gospel Music to sing secular songs.
For most Nigerian Artists, the Church was their first platform to showcase their talents which is why most of them ventured into doing Gospel Music, however, for reasons known to them, they left to sing secular songs.
Most of the great artists and producers we see today were either gospel singers or started their music careers in churches in some way.
Even if most of them don’t talk about it much, I’m sure you’ll be eager to find out if one of your favourite Nigerian artists falls into this category?
Mp3bullet.ng highlights the top Nigerian Artists you didn’t knwo left Gospel Music to sing secular Songs
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Simi
Simi is without a doubt one of Nigeria’s most creative and gifted female singers. The singer, who is now married to her singer-husband, Adekunle Gold, began singing and dancing in her early teens as a member of Daystar Christian Centre’s teen church choir.
She started her music career as a Gospel singer and even released her debut album titled ‘Ogaju” which was produced mainly by Samklef.
However, She chose a different path as a secular music singer, and her songs “Joromi,” “One Kain,” “Ayo,” “Selense,” and “Jamb Question,” to name a few, have helped her become one of the country’s top chart-topping artists.
Wande Coal
Today, we know him as one of Nigeria’s most innovative songwriters and performers, but you probably didn’t realize that he began his musical career in a church.
Along with his friend Chuddy K, the Black Diamond frontman started singing in the teen choir. Before going their separate ways into the Hip Hop industry, they were both in a boy band named Salvation Boiz.
Wande began his career as a dancer before signing to Don Jazzy’s “Mo’Hit Records” in 2006, where he had a string of singles. Years later, he departed the label.
J Martins
Before the duo chose to split up, J Martins was a close associate of P-square’s as a musical collaborator and producer. The ‘Good or Bad’ singer inherited his love of music from his mother, a choir mistress.
During his time at the Institute of Management Technology in Enugu, Martins was a member of the church choir and even produced several gospel singers.
Wizkid
Arguably Nigeria’s most valuable export! Wizkid’s songs are on the lips of literally every music fan on the planet, but most people are unaware that the Starboy got his start in church.
He began singing in church at the age of 11 under the stage name ‘Lil Prinz,’ during which he formed a group called the Glorious Five with a couple of his church friends.
They managed to release an album prior to disbanding.
In 2006, he started going by the name ‘Wizkid‘ and later met the late OJB Jezreel, who prevented him from recording for a year.
While visiting OJB’s Point Beat Studios frequently, he watched 2Baba record songs for his Grass 2 Grace album. He was also present during the recording sessions for Sound Sultan’s debut album Jagbajantis
After inking a deal with EME in 2009 and following his huge break in 2010, Wizzy has since created a reputation for himself both in the Nigerian and International music scene.
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Rema
Rema, also known as the ‘Bad Commando,’ has been involved in music since he was a child.
Rema used to attend the Christ Embassy in Benin City, specifically the Ekenwan branch.
In his church, he was a member of the 7 Dimension, a group for gospel rappers to explore.
Rema started rapping and became a solid member of 3 different music groups in church singing gospel songs.
He was the leader of the rap nation group. He had a passion for gospel music and dreamt of someday performing on the big stage of his church headquarters in Lagos, christ embassy.
This was when he adopted the name, Rema. His pastor saw the talent in him and advised him to start writing songs. This he took heed to the advice and did so well.
The pastor also gave a prophecy that he would be great, and the whole world will listen to his music. Rema held on firmly to the prophecy, and this has been a significant source of motivation to him throughout his career.
After working odd jobs and freestyling to beats, his hard work finally paid off when D Prince came across his cover for “Gucci Gang” and signed him to Jonzing records.
Today Rema is a popular name in the industry and has even attracted attention in the International music scene in a short period.