Africa 24 Media Photography

The Kenyan music industry has revolutionized over the years and the gospel music industry in particular has played a key role in this change. Gone are the days when gospel music was a reserve of the ‘born-again’ Christians, and to access it one had to tune in to “Sing and Shine”. The lulling tunes were out of resonance with the youth and any beat beyond the choir-like tunes was frowned upon.

Today, we hum to a new song and dance to a fast pace rhythm. This industry has also seen a change in terms of dressing. In the days of yore, anything garment above the knee was a clear no, no and the application of make-up was deemed as the work of the devil. Women proclaiming to love God and still wear trousers were castigated and woe unto thee if spotted in “Un-Godly” places. Presently, gospel music enjoys generous airplay in both secular and Christian stations alike, and if anything is to go by, gospel music has acquired swagger. To attest to this growth is the Groove Awards, an event held annually and which seeks to expose, promote and celebrate gospel artistes in Kenya, and beyond. In the just concluded Groove Awards - held on the 2nd of May 2010 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) - gospel music came to the fore as fans and musicians alike put their best foot forward to make the 6th annual Groove Awards ceremony a memorable event. Since its inception in 2004, over 600 artistes and groups have been nominated and over 100 Groove statuettes presented to musicians from Kenya and the East African region. The awards ceremony, whose key sponsor was Safaricom through their brand Skiza, was aired live to thousands of viewers across the nation and to viewers beyond via Nation TV. This year saw a number of new talents outshine veterans in the industry. Musicians like Eko Dydda who has “crunked” up gospel music, walked away with the new artiste of the year award. Other winners were; Alice Kamande with her Wewe pekee hit song which got the Worship song of the year nod and Emmy Kosgei who clinched the female artiste of the year award. However, the conqueror’s crown went to Daddy Owen who bagged six awards including the prestigious male artist of the year award, song of the year (Kiriro – featuring Allan Aaron), album of the year (System ya Kupangala), video of the year (Kiriro – featuring Allan Aaron), collabo of the year (Kiriro – featuring Allan Aaron) and Central song of the year (Kiriro – featuring Allan Aaron). Other big winners in the artist of the year category in the East African region included Rose Muhando for Tanzania, Exodus for Uganda, The Sisters for Rwanda, Fabrice Nzeyimama for Burundi, while Kiki Mutungi grabbed the East Africa diaspora artist of the year. There are indications that the Gospel music industry is winning over souls to Christ and with the tunes they ascribe to, people from all walks of life seem to appreciate the message. To both the musicians and the fans, it seems like there is no limit as to how far one can spread the Gospel and if donning the latest trends to appease to the masses works, then, so be it. The industry continues to make notable growth and judging from the organization of the Groove Awards, better and bigger seems to be the message that this industry is passing on.

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