In this interview, renowned gospel artiste, Frank Edwards, tells MOBOLA SADIQ of Punch newspaper, Nigeria about gospel music and its demands.
What led you into gospel music?
I come from a musical family. My dad was in the church choir, so I followed him to rehearsals. I developed the love for playing the piano at the age of seven. Initially, I didn’t love music enough to become an artiste. As a matter of fact, my dad never wanted me to become one but music just overwhelmed me. I wanted to be a pilot.
Why are gospel artistes rarely used as brand ambassadors or influencers?
There are so many reasons. Firstly, you have to understand that the industry and ministry is not the same thing. Gospel music is a ministry, the other one is an industry, so it functions fully like that. The gospel ministry is totally different from the secular industry even though you might say that there is a business side of it which makes it similar. But in gospel ministry, the business aspect of it is never the focus. I tell people that if you want to make money, don’t do gospel music; you would have a lot of issues. Gospel music means one is reaching out to people through music; the others are strictly entertainment or at least 70-80 per cent entertainment. The company would rather give the opportunity to musicians who sing songs that all religions, including Christians, would dance to, either at a party or in a club. Because the companies are looking for numbers, they would give the brand ambassadorship to someone who everybody loves their music. If the companies give it to gospel singers like me, people who don’t listen to gospel would probably not pay attention. Although I’m a brand ambassador, it is not everything that one must do as a gospel artiste. When you are not getting endorsements, think of how many souls you music has healed– that’s your reward.
Are there contracts that one should not sign as a gospel artiste?
The answer is yes. You have to know what you want to represent. Although anybody can choose to represent anything but note that whatever brand ambassadorship one takes on must not be anti- what one believes or represents. That should be one’s first yardstick of taking brand ambassador deals. For example, my body has zero tolerance for alcohol, so I can’t be a brand ambassador for makers of alcoholic products, no matter the money involved.
How does your ministry affect you as a young unmarried man?
In this ministry, if one wants to avoid scandals, one has to be strict. One also doesn’t want to offend God. With me, purpose and ambition are more important than marriage. When one has a vision and purpose, marriage helps these things. To be honest, I wish I was married before now but I know God would help me through it. I really want to get over with it this year. I need to leave this club; it’s no longer fun having to slip into the kitchen in the middle of the night to get something to eat. My ministry affects me sometimes and at times, it doesn’t. For example, before one marries someone, one needs to know the person and speak to the person but a lot of times, I don’t find myself in the cycle where I meet people. Even if I find myself there, there’s always this gap. A lot of times, one is also being careful because one doesn’t know the one that one would talk to and would say, “Oh, man of God.” There is a way people see us, forgetting that a man of God would also get married. How would a man of God get married if he doesn’t ask for numbers? However, this year, I have made up my mind to break the jinx. I grew up in a very spiritual background but I had to work on myself and loosen up.
