Emerging gospel artistes feel big to be mentored

Up and coming gospel artiste, Samuel Ashirifie is urging young gospel musicians not to feel too big to get guidance from established artistes in the industry.

He mentioned that many of his colleagues are struggling and have not found a “reputable space” because they want to do everything on their own.

In an interview with Graphic Showbiz on the sidelines of this year’s Harvest Praise on Easter Friday, Samuel said he has found his feet and making progress because of the mentorship of veteran gospel artiste, Amy Newman.

 “I have been privileged to be guided by Auntie Amy Newman who has taught me a lot as a newbie. Yes, being a gospel artiste means that propagating the word of God is the core of your mandate but it’s equally worth mentioning that there are many things that establish you.

“As a new artiste, you need those who have gone through the mill to guide you and shape your journey. And that is why I’m urging the young ones like myself to seek proper guidance from those who have walked the path,” he said.

The conversation about churches paying gospel artistes have been high in recent times with divided opinions on the matter.

Sharing his personal experience, Samuel explained that gospel musicians also pay for music productions so they need money to fund such projects.

“The churches mostly claim that we are working for God and they are also giving us a platform to popularise our works. That is very understandable but I came to perform at Harvest Praise in Accra from Takoradi.

“So if a church in Accra invites me to perform at a programme and they only say ‘thank you’, I don’t think it will be fair to me considering the cost I incurred travelling from Takoradi to Accra.

“I agree that money shouldn’t be the focus but there’s nothing wrong in giving a honorarium. The bible even says that the labourer deserves wages so that’s the way it should go,” he added.