Africa has offered a lot of gospel artists over the years and each year we are guaranteed someone somewhere will blow up and make regional impact. Although we have a lot of amazing gospel talent, these days music moves faster and it takes a lot of uniqueness, style and creativity to reach regional audience.
Gospel music comes in different styles and genres, it is not boxed in one sound although this has sparked a lot of controversy and debate within Christian circles with arguments on which style is the most appropriate for gospel music. Several artists of late have experimented with different sounds borrowed from different genres unlike before when many could not appreciate the fact that music evolves.
This article presents a list of some of the unique artists who are likely to make significant impact in 2023, these may not be all, but are some of the artists who have made names in their countries and are likely to step on the regional stage this year:
EVERTON MLALAZI | ZIMBABWE
Everton Mlalazi is regarded is fasted growing gospel brand in Zimbabwe with a reputation of dominating radio charts with almost every release and has won 8 awards in a period of 2 years. He was born and raised in the country’s capital Harare.
ABEL CHUNGU | ZAMBIA
Born Abel Chungu Musuka but simply known as Abel Chungu is an award winning Zambian gospel artist. He is arguably the most impactful artists currently in Zambia and might be extending his reach into the rest of Africa this year.
JOSEPH OSCAR NII ARMAH METTLE | GHANA
Popularly know just as Joe Mettle, the Ghanaian singer and songwriter is an undeniable force in Ghana and West Africa gospel circles. He rose to prominence in 2017 and the same year he became the first gospel musician in Ghana to win Artist of the year at the Ghana Music Awards.
VICTORIA ORENZE | NIGERIA
Victoria Orenze is probably the fastest-rising gospel recording artiste in Nigeria. She rose to prominence after Nigerian famous artiste Nathaniel Bassey featured her on his single Alagbana Ina in 2017.
AYANDA NTANZI | SOUTH AFRICA
Born in Pietermaritzburg in the early ’90s and a lawyer by profession, Ayanda is also a professional musician who is rising into the limelight at an impressive rate. Ntanzi was raised in a family of singers who inspired him to establish a career in gospel music and now has 3 studio albums; ‘According To Grace’, ‘Udomo’ and ‘Priestly Worship’.
YADAH | NIGERIA
Yadah is a gospel singer and songwriter from Cross River state in Nigeria. She rose to fame after release of her single ‘Beyond Me’ after which she was received well in her country and will most likely rise into the rest Africa this year.
BOITSHEPO TLHABIWE | BOTSWANA
When you think about gospel artists around Africa, you rarely hear a name from Botswana, the space is usually dominated by Nigerians, South Africans, Ghanaians and a bit of Zimbabweans. Well, this year we might be having one from Botswana, Boitshepo is currently making some waves with her dynamic gift for praise and worship and she might be carrying a package for Africa.
EVELYN WANJIRU | KENYA
Evelyn Wanjiru is a Kenyan award-winning gospel music vocalist and songwriter who has been making impact in Kenya and some parts of East Africa with her modern Afro-beats combined with soul music and R n B sound. She is regarded as one of the best vocalists in Kenya and 2023 might be the year that she breaks her influence into the rest of Africa. She is also a hostess of the annual event “Praise Atmosphere”.