Gospel singer Hopekid explains mass exodus of Kenyan gospel artists to secular music

Gospel artist Hope Kid explained why many of his colleagues are transitioning from gospel music to secular music during an interview with Oga Obinna and Sheila Kwamboka on Kiss 100.

Hope Kid, who has been part of the gospel scene for over eight years, stated that several of his friends are abandoning gospel music because they feel they missed out on experiencing various aspects of life while growing up.

Hope Kid believes that being raised in church restricted them from doing certain things since their lives were closely monitored. Consequently, they are now exploring different avenues to make up for the lost time.

From left: Oga Obinna, Hope Kid and Sheila Kwamboka Pulse Live Kenya

"Our generation, me, Willy Paul, Bahati, and others joined the industry at a very young age and we were doing gospel because we grew up in church. So there are a lot of things that we never experienced because we were born again and all that.

"There are many stages that we didn't go through because we were held accountable for whatever reasons or the small things that we did and that is why we missed out on a certain phase in life and that is why we noticed after we are adults that there are things that we didn't do," Hope Kid explained.

He continued by saying that they used to preach without knowing how the other side looks like, and this led some of his friends to experiment with moving in a secular direction to see what goes on there.

Hope Kid Pulse Live Kenya

However, he also mentioned that there are some artists who transitioned from secular music to gospel, and according to him, these artists don't backslide because they have firsthand knowledge of what life entails.

Artists who quit gospel for secular music

In Kenya, Willy was one of the pioneering artists to shift from the gospel music industry to secular music, and this move was met with criticism.

However, over time, more artists followed suit and also transitioned to secular music, each citing their own unique reasons for doing so.

Willy Paul
Bahati
Mr Seed

Artists who quit secular for gospel music

Size 8 made headlines nine years ago when she debuted with 'Mateke' as her first gospel song after quitting secular music. The rest is history, as she is currently a pastor after being ordained in 2021.