Our industry structure doesn’t benefit up and coming gospel artistes – Kuami Eugene

Musician Kuami Eugene, also known as the Rockstar, has shared why he switched from gospel to secular music.

He explained that upcoming gospel artistes struggle to break through and gain recognition due to the way the gospel music fraternity in Ghana is structured.

The Rock Star spoke in a recent interview on Joy Prime’s Changes show.

“The industry here in Ghana is not structured to benefit an upcoming gospel artiste,” he said adding that “You can be Afrobeats or Highlife music, Tik Tok loves music like that. That’s why you keep seeing young boys popping up with just may one single song and everybody is jamming to it.”

He went on to explain that breaking through in Ghana's gospel music industry is difficult because of the perceptions Ghanaians have developed about gospel musicians.

He noted that people tend to pay more attention to artistes' appearance than the messages conveyed in their songs, adding that many are quick to judge based on how gospel musicians look.

“It’s difficult to breakthrough with gospel music because of how we’ve been in tuned to listen to gospel music. We judge everything. If a guy is singing gospel right now, instead of us to be socked in the presence of God, our attention is on the fact that he’s wearing a chain, or he’s radical to sing worship. So he’ll sing and there’s no impact. It’s not his fault, he did his best but the reception. We’ve judged him from our hearts already. So it’s not easy to blow as gospel artiste.”

He revealed that despite his efforts to establish himself in gospel music, he struggled to achieve the breakthrough he desired. However, he found it easier to gain recognition after switching to secular music, where he believes success is largely determined by one's talent and ability.

Nevertheless, Kuami Eugene maintains that he is still involved in gospel music indirectly, as he writes and produces songs for some gospel musicians. He added that some of his own songs also carry inspirational messages and retain elements of the gospel music style.

“But I think I’m still doing the work of God anyway. Most of the big gospel songs you enjoy, I wrote and produced them by the grace of God. So I’m still doing the job, just that I’m not doing it myself; I’m giving them out to be done.”

The ‘Wish Me Well’ hitmaker hinted that he plans to include at least one gospel song in every project he releases, catering to his fans who love his gospel-inspired music.

The musician has also released a new song titled ‘Ajei’, a fun and upbeat track that is already resonating with music lovers.