Ghanaian gospel singer Perez Musik, known for his popular song “Hewale Lala” has revealed that he doesn’t see anything wrong with Gospel musicians competing with their fellows or secular acts, and receiving awards thereafter.
He compared receiving awards to writing exams for promotions and certificates in school, arguing that anyone who opposes awards should have also intentionally failed their school exams. “While the work of a Gospel musician is very spiritual, it is equally, and essentially interpreted in the physical”, the “Hewale Lala” hitmaker noted.
He disclosed that the message of a Gospel musician cannot be received if it remains only spiritual with no physical channel – which is the music – for carrying the spirit. Once, it is expressed physically, he insinuated, it is subject to physical actions, particularly judgments, which is the idea behind awards.
“If man, who is listening to the music, thinks that this music is well produced, this artiste has put in good work, so we want to award him, I don’t see anything wrong with it”, he buttressed.
“If you only go to the studio to record music to win awards, I’d say, your focus is wrong. Awards are by-products and add-ons – they are beautiful and complement efforts. However, for a Gospel artist, the main calling is the salvation of souls, the encouragement of people, and the upliftment of hearts”.
Perez Musik
Perez Musik revealed that one has to leverage awards won for desired results. The Gospel star spoke concerning what winning two trophies at the 2023 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards has done for him.
“It has opened doors. Most of it depends on you the artist and how you’ll use it. Winning at the VGMAs has opened some doors – it gives you some recognition. It makes people understand that you’re actually working [hard]”, the gospel star noted.
In August 2022, Perez hosted his first concert Glorified themed: ‘Splendor & Majesty’. In September 2023, the second edition was themed: ‘Grace & Mercy’. He is set to release a 13-track album, “Breakthrough”, in October 2023.
The Spirit Behind Every Song
Perez Musik posited that what gives a song wide acceptance, bringing it to hit status, is not exactly the language but often it is the spirit behind the song.
The award-winning Ghanaian artist, who prefers to write and perform mainly in Ga, further noted that the audible beauty of the song and its composition also matters.
“It’s true that language aids understanding but I always say that one of the biggest songs in the world is ‘Despacito’, and that song is in Spanish”, he observed.
He further added that he does not know the full meaning of that song [Despacito] but he loves it. “Because anytime I heard it, it induced a certain feeling, it tickled my ears, it gave me some excitement”, Perez Musik said.
The Gospel star posited that every song has a spirit and the spirit behind the song is what carries the song, and that’s what lifts the song. Also, he revealed that for a song to be widely accepted, it’s not just lyrics that matter.
The record producer and singer stressed that, while the language used to write a song may be unintelligible to a listener, the spirit behind it often makes it appealing.
“When the song is musical – it makes musical sense – I mean, people listen to Jazz without lyrics but still, there are very popular Jazz songs that people can identify”, he further noted.
He noted that he did not want to confuse his following concerning the identity of the spirit that made his award-winning Hewale Lala (Song of Strength) resonate with the masses. “It was the power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, that backed the song. I think that’s what made the song different from any other song I’ve worked on”, he said.
Hewale Lala gave Perez Musik his inaugural Vodafone Ghana Music Awards this year; Male Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
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