Gospel musician, Diana Hamilton, has responded to Nigerian singer, Nathaniel Bassey’s comment in which he urged Ghanaian musicians to sing in English to enable them to thrive beyond the nation.

She argued that music is a spirit and the message it carries and its impact on the lives of people is what matters most hence, Nathaniel Bassey’s comment about the language barrier is not right.

Diana Hamilton stressed that God called everyone for a particular purpose, which means one singing in the local dialect alone cannot hinder him/her from making it to the global stage.

Speaking in an interview with Serwaa Amihere on GhOne TV monitored by GhanaWeb, Diana Hamilton rejected Nathaniel Bassey's “sing in Engish” assertion and maintained that singing in the local dialect can not affect one’s music career as claimed.

“Pastor Nathaniel [Basssey] made a statement about what he thinks but is that what is working everywhere? I don’t think so. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I have been singing in English and Twi for some time now and it's helping me. With my colleagues who sing in only Twi, I wouldn’t say they are limited because music is a spirit.

“It is based on their strength and usually first language always matters and allows them to express themselves so I wouldn’t say they are limited. I have sung songs in the South African language that I didn’t understand but it ministered so much to the people. God calls people for specific purposes so It is not right to judge others” she said.

Nathaniel Bassey was subjected to criticism when he claimed that Ghanaian gospel musicians have potential, however, they are not excelling at the global level because they sing mostly in the local dialect (Twi).

Some musicians were peeved with his comment because it tends to undermine their potential as gospel artistes, they argued.

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"I don't believe singing in your local dialect is a problem, music is spiritual..." - Diana Hamilton#GHToday #Ghana #GospelMusic #DianaHamilton #GHOneTV pic.twitter.com/KFNzCrFipH

— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) January 25, 2024