Gospel musician Patience Nyarko says award-winning artiste, Joe Mettle, may not find his mettle when the Methodist Church or the Church of Pentecost directs that their songs should not be used by musicians in Ghana.
“How many English songs has Joe Mettle composed in this country? Let [the Church of] Pentecost and Methodist Church come out with a directive that no musician should sing their songs, I tell you he will fall,” she said on Onua TV on Saturday, May 16.
Discussing the state of gospel music on the television station’s weekend entertainment talk show Anigye Mmre, the United Kingdom-based (UK) Ghanaian event organiser told host Christian Agyei Frimpong that Ghanaian gospel music doesn’t cut across because of the language so as a promoter and an event organiser when he brings Ghanaian musicians for events, he does not get other nationals like Nigerians and South Africans attending.
He said the events tend to be for only the Ghanaian community.
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Citing Nigerian gospel musicians who use the pidgin language in most of their songs, DJ Alordia said this attracts lots of people from other countries in the UK.
He, however, singled out Joe mettle, who uses the English language in some of his works.
“So, when you put him on a show here in UK, you get lots of foreigners attending.”
But reacting to this, gospel musician Nyarko said the statement is demeaning to some of them since “Joe Mettle is not where people want us to believe he is.
“The way people want to lift him above all of us, they will give him problem. He is not yet there. People want us to believe he is better than all of us gospel musicians in Ghana.”
She said Mr Mettle is not the only Ghanaian gospel artiste who attracts foreigners.
“Apart from Joe Mettle singing Pentecost and Methodist songs, how many English songs has he composed and you want to disrespect some of us that write our own songs?” she complained.