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Award-winning gospel musician, Perez Musik, has opened up about the challenges he faced when he began exploring sounds beyond urban gospel, saying audiences often struggle to accept artistes outside the genres they are known for.
Speaking on The Career Trail on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, Perez Musik said urban gospel itself faced resistance because it was not widely accepted within Ghana’s Christian community.
“One of the challenges was that it’s not really an accepted genre in the country. The Christian fraternity hasn’t come to terms with that aspect of the song ministry. So it was quite difficult,” he said.
He explained that the genre seeks to create a platform for young Christians who want to express their faith through music that connects with their generation.
“It is a wonderful family of young people who are enthusiastic about God. Rather than doing music to please the world, they want to serve a particular generation. I think it was beautiful,” he stated.
However, moving beyond urban gospel to contemporary music also came with its own challenges, as some within the contemporary music scene questioned where he belonged.
“One of the challenges I faced when I say, in quotes, ‘transition’, was that the people in the contemporary side were like, ‘Ah, who’s this? Is he part of us? Is he one of us? Where’s he coming from?’” he shared.
“It wasn’t intentional. It was just me expressing myself, like testing my limits. I still do urban gospel. My latest song has more of an urban Afro vibe. But I felt like I had to push myself, push my limits. So I didn’t see anything wrong with it,” he highlighted.
Perez Musik stressed that he identifies with both genres and believes artistes should be free to explore different sounds as long as their message remains clear.
“I love to explore different sounds and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I have a problem with it when people categorise and segment. I think it’s just music. And you’re an artist. Once you feel like expressing yourself on a ballad, you should be able to. You feel like expressing yourself on an R&B soul kind of vibe, you should. If you feel like doing alternative sound, you should,” he submitted.
“Just that the message should be clear, like Christ. The message is Christ. It’s clearly Christ. I think you should be able to express yourself. So for me, I was just expressing myself,” he emphasised.
According to Perez Musik, the experience showed how quickly artistes can become boxed into a particular identity.
“Ghanaians have a way of boxing you. That’s why we call every toothpaste, we call every bath soap Key Soap. Because when they know you for something, for them to shift their mind from that side, it’s very, very difficult. And a lot of people in the contemporary, even up to now, they don’t really see me as a contemporary artist. They see me like the yo-yo,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Perez Musik remains grateful for how far his journey has taken him.
“But I think it’s just the grace of God that has brought me this far. It’s just the grace and the mercy of God. And I don’t take that for granted at all.”
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