Afrobeats musician Johnny Drille has talked candidly about his difficulties finding acceptance in the church, even though he began his musical career there.
Speaking on a recent podcast, he said: “I didn’t feel like my music was predominantly in church. Every now and then, I get invited to churches to sing, which is kind of interesting.”
The singer revealed that his switch from gospel to mainstream music drew criticism from some Christians. “I’ve gotten a bit of backlash from my Christian community every now and then when they invite me to churches. But at the end of the day, the music is positive. It speaks to good things that sometimes the church doesn’t want to talk about,” he explained.
Johnny Drille also faulted churches for avoiding songs about love, saying: “The church shies away from talking about love. A lot of times you go for some Christian weddings and you hear Davido and Wizkid. What if the church decides that we want to start doing our own Christian love songs?”
Reflecting on his early days, he said: “There’s a place for worship music, right? But there’s also music about so much more that the church could be singing about. I was a music director, directing the choir, but I never really sang in front of the church. I think it helped me become the musician I am today.”
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“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”