Speaking on Peace FM’s Entertainment Review, Pastor Azigiza Jnr stated that Ghanaians will be quick to judge any gospel musician in Ghana who sings a pop song, tagging him or her to have ‘fallen’ but they are the same people who went to watch Kirk Franklin perform at the Perez Dome over the weekend.

“The truth must be said, there is some form of hypocrisy among Ghanaians. All the people who went to the Perez Dome are Christians and Ghanaians who love good music but they are the same people who will condemn should a Ghanaian sing hip-pop gospel music so what are we saying?” Azigiza quizzed show host Kwesi Aboagye.

According to Pastor Azigiza, any gospel song which is produced in Ghana under the hip-pop genre receives little or no patronage because the Ghanaian society expects you to walk, talk and sing in a certain way if you are a gospel musician.

“Some time ago when I did my first gospel, it had rap and the hip-pop groove in it. In Ghana, we could not even sell a single copy but we sold so much when I went to the US. The reason being that the culture of the people over there is such that they embrace modernity,” he noted.

He also added that most Ghanaians suffer what he calls the ‘Saul’ syndrome. Explaining the ‘Saul’ syndrome, Pastor Azigiza added that “when they see a ‘David’ coming, they either want to kill him or they will not accept him in any way. To most people, if you try something new with gospel music, then they say it is not from God.”

“In Ghana, the norm is that gospel music is supposed to be sorrowful, the gospel musician should also be broke and have this abnormal humility,” he said.

Meanwhile Pastor Azigiza endorsed Kirk Franklin’s style of music stating that “what Kirk Franklin does is 100 per cent gospel music. If you want to analyze Kirk’s Music then we will have to look at the music outside the box. Also we have to also take into consideration the culture of the people where he does the music for.”

“I can tell you on authority that what Kirk Franklin is doing is music and it is also gospel – which is the good news-. So he marries the sound and the lyrics with the spirit of God.”