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“Stop The Gaslighting” – Timi Dakolo Reacts to Pastor Femi Lazarus’s Comment Over Gospel Artists’ Performance Fees
Popular Nigerian singer, Timi Dakolo, has pushed back against a statement made by Pastor Femi Lazarus, who recently criticized gospel musicians for charging fees to perform at church events.
The debate over whether gospel artists should be financially compensated for their performances in churches resurfaced after Pastor Lazarus, the lead pastor of Light Nation Church, expressed his disapproval of the practice.
In a now-viral video, the clergyman lamented that gospel music had become more about business than ministry, alleging that some artists demand exorbitant fees to perform. “It has become a performance—someone has come here to charge N5 million to sing,” Pastor Lazarus remarked.
His comments sparked heated reactions on social media, with many weighing in on whether gospel musicians should be paid for their services.
Reacting to the pastor’s statement, Timi Dakolo strongly opposed the notion that gospel artists should perform without compensation. He stressed that musicians invest heavily in their craft and deserve to be paid accordingly.
“You should be paid what you deserve. Studio session, production, and promotion cost a lot. You have a family to feed, you have rent to pay, you have more songs to put out. We should stop all these attacks on people’s work. As much as it is spiritual, music is art,” Dakolo wrote.
The R&B singer further advised Pastor Lazarus to rely on his church choir if he was unwilling to pay professional gospel artists for performances. “This gaslighting has to stop. If you can’t pay people, use your choir members and pay them what you would have given the guest artist,” he added.
The controversy has since fueled divided opinions online. While some people agreed with Dakolo, arguing that gospel music is both a spiritual calling and a profession, others maintained that it should remain strictly a ministry and not a commercial venture.
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