Yeah, I said it. Gospel is the new black, everywhere you look there’s another secular artiste giving up their worldly ways to walk the straight and narrow.

 Gospel artistes haven’t always had it easy, to quote Pete Odera, whose group Hart caused uproar in the early 90s when they performed at secular joints, it has always been a ‘catch 22’ situation. The church says they are too secular and the secular world thinks they are too religious. Now, it seems, there is a perfect balance.

With the Gospel assault on the mainstream, Secular fans are appreciating Gospel tunes and Gospel fans are accepting the hip "down with J" faith over the old school King James Version. It’s a complete 360 from the late 1980’s when gospel though mainstream was of the traditional variety. Here are a few reasons why the new wave of gospel is such a hit…

Gospel artistes no longer wear long flowing Sunday best dresses or black on black suits like they used to do in ‘Sing And Shine’ circa 1988. The younger generation of Gospel artistes have swag and showmanship in spades, Cool hairstyles, funky threads and stylish poses to match. Ladies have mastered how to look both stylish and respectable. Though they may not admit it, this has garnered many male admirers who view them as ‘wifey’ material.

Despite this, Gospel artistes should know they walk a thin line when it comes to the image they portray and I must say Damita Haddons sultry pin up surprised me somewhat but then again she’s American — the place where secular artistes release number one Gospel albums. So far, most Local gospel stars have managed to keep it trendy and wholesome when it comes to image.

While some gospel artistes, especially the younger ones feature barely discernable lyrics one thing you can always guarantee is that their videos, performances and lyrics will never feature the ‘parental advisory’ sticker.

Gospel music is as clean as it gets, you can be sure no four-letter curse words that rhyme with duck; snitch and dough will feature in a gospel track. This makes it easier for those listening to the music when kids or older people are in the vicinity. It cancels out that awkward silence that always follows a particularly sordid lyric.

Gospel music is both parent and kid-friendly and with its new fashionable edge it’s now teen friendly. This is a huge plus for gospel artistes when it comes to radio play as radio programmers do not have to censor the content. On a side note, there are some radio and TV stations that seem to have forgotten this basic rule and enjoy ‘pon de replaying’ uncensored music for our listening and viewing pleasure...hmm.

Most Gospel artistes possess a squeaky clean image and this has seen them win endorsements with non-alcoholic products. Of course there are those who are preaching water and drinking wine or rather Vodka but their ruse rarely last long. Case in point, DNG’s foray into the ways of the world saw him almost rough up a photographer who caught him holding onto a keg instead of Bible. In the end he came clean about his fall from grace. With the success of the gospel industry I’m thinking DNG may now be considering changing his name to Pamela and going back to the church...but that’s just me. Nevertheless, a majority of Gospel artistes don’t rave and are therefore rarely caught misbehaving, this has worked wonders for them. Good PR means good business.

Professionalism

Gospel artistes display a professionalism that more often than not lacks in the secular industry especially when it comes to ‘certain’ artistes. This may be due to the fact that they have trained in church where moral dedication is encouraged in all ventures. They turn up for concerts on time and keep their word. They are also more spiritually grounded and therefore not prone to tantrums and drama. A good number of gospel artistes can play musical instruments and hours of choir practice means they have undergone more voice training than their secular counterparts. This is not to say the mainstream doesn’t have professionals, it does, but a few individuals though gifted are losing out by acting amateurish. It would serve them well to learn a thing or two from gospel artistes.