Popular gospel singer, Nikki Laoye, was in the news some weeks ago following reports that the singer’s marriage had collapsed.
But since then, neither the singer nor her husband has spoken openly about it. However, when Saturday Beats reached out to the singer who sounded bubbly on the telephone, she stated that she would rather keep her personal life to herself. She said, “The only thing I can say about the news that my marriage crashed is that my private life is my private business. I am not going to put my private life on social media or anywhere. I am not about to talk about my personal life anywhere. I just want to focus on my music, my foundation and be with my family.”
“I am grateful to God that I am still alive and well. I thank God that my family is together and healthy. Everybody is fine and that is the most important thing,” Laoye said.
Commenting on the state of gospel music in the country, the singer said that it was sad that people only remember gospel music when they have accidents or whenever they are going through hard times.
She said, “I don’t know when things changed, this year would make it my 12th year as a gospel singer. I remember when I started my career, there was no segregation when playing gospel and secular music on the radio and television. That was the era of singers like Rooftop MCs, Bouqui, etc., and they would play our music along with the songs of the likes of Eldee, Banky W, and other secular artistes.
“There was no segregation at the time. All of a sudden, there was a season things changed and it did not make any sense. Some radio on air personalities and television presenters started relegating gospel songs to being played on Sundays alone. The irony is that recently, they have stopped playing gospel music on Sundays. Meanwhile, Sunday is meant to be the day for us to enjoy the airwaves. Some television stations have stopped playing gospel music on Sundays. Now, they play the songs of inspirational mainstream artistes. I think it is about the mindset, I do not know what the OAPs are doing.
“The sad thing is that when people are in trouble or when they have an accident or something goes wrong, you would hear them singing my song or that of Tim Godfrey or Sammie Okposo. When things like that happen, I always like to let them know that the songs are not composed for them to sing only when they are going through bad times. During the week, they ought to play gospel music because we all need God at every time of the day, we do not need God on Sundays alone.
“Gospel music is still doing well; it is just that a lot of people are not getting to hear these songs as they come out. I remember when someone reached out to me on Twitter, stating that I had not released music in a while, I was shocked because I release music every year. The truth is that anytime I release my songs, I take them to radio and television stations but at the end of the day, I cannot force them to play my songs. They play the songs but the truth is that we do not know when. They play the songs on Sundays when everyone is in church, so no one gets to hear or see them when they are aired. I think we need to have a gospel segment during the week even if it is for 30 minutes.”
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