Kuami Eugene Reveals Challenges That Pushed Him Away from Gospel Music

Ghanaian musician Kuami Eugene, popularly known as the Rockstar, has opened up about his decision to switch from gospel music to secular music, citing the challenges upcoming gospel artistes face in gaining recognition and breaking into the industry.

Speaking in a recent on Joy Prime’s Changes show, the singer explained that Ghana’s gospel music industry is not structured to support emerging musicians, making it difficult for them to achieve mainstream success.

According to him, genres such as Afrobeats and Highlife enjoy greater exposure on digital platforms, particularly TikTok, allowing relatively unknown musicians to gain popularity with just one song.

“The industry here in Ghana is not structured to benefit an upcoming gospel artiste. You can be Afrobeats or Highlife music; TikTok loves music like that. That’s why you keep seeing young boys popping up with just maybe one single song and everybody is jamming to it,” he said.

Kuami Eugene further attributed the challenges facing gospel musicians to the attitudes and perceptions of Ghanaian music audiences, arguing that listeners often pay more attention to an artiste’s appearance than the message being communicated through the music.

He observed that some gospel musicians are judged based on their dressing, accessories and personal appearance, rather than the spiritual content of their performances.

“It’s difficult to break through with gospel music because of how we’ve been tuned to listen to gospel music. We judge everything. If a guy is singing gospel right now, instead of us being soaked in the presence of God, our attention is on the fact that he’s wearing a chain, or he’s radical to sing worship. So he’ll sing and there’s no impact,” he explained.

He added that such judgments can affect the reception of gospel music, even when the artistes deliver their best performances.

Reflecting on his own experience, the Wish Me Well hitmaker disclosed that he made efforts to establish himself in gospel music but struggled to achieve the recognition he desired.

He said his transition into secular music opened up more opportunities for him, making it easier to gain public attention in an industry where talent and musical ability often determine an artiste’s success.

Despite moving away from gospel music as a performer, Kuami Eugene maintained that he continues to contribute to the gospel music industry through songwriting and production.

He revealed that he has written and produced several popular gospel songs for other musicians, insisting that his involvement in gospel music has not ended.

“But I think I’m still doing the work of God anyway. Most of the big gospel songs you enjoy, I wrote and produced them by the grace of God. So I’m still doing the job, just that I’m not doing it myself; I’m giving them out to be done,” he said.

The musician also hinted at plans to include at least one gospel-inspired song in every project he releases to satisfy fans who appreciate that side of his music.

Meanwhile, Kuami Eugene has released a new song titled Ajei, an upbeat and entertaining track that is already attracting attention from music lovers.