Nigerian afrobeats singer and songwriter Johnny Drille, has spoken up about his musical journey and how he struggled to find his place in the church community despite starting out in church.
During a recent podcast interview, the singer disclosed that while though he had previously worked as a music director in a church, he never really felt that his musical style belonged there.
“I didn’t feel like my music was predominantly in church. Every now and then, I get invited to churches to sing, which is kind of interesting,” he said.
Additionally, Johnny Drille acknowledged that some Christians reacted negatively to his move from gospel to mainstream music.
“I’ve gotten a bit of backlash from my Christian community every now and then when they invite me to churches. But at the end of the day, the music is positive. It speaks to good things that sometimes the church doesn’t want to talk about,” he explained.
According to Johnny Drille, churches often refrain from expressing love through music.
“The church shies away from talking about love. A lot of times you go for some Christian weddings and you hear Davido and Wizkid. What if the church decides that we want to start doing our own Christian love songs?” he said.
“There’s a place for worship music, right? But there’s also music about so much more that the church could be singing about. I was a music director, directing the choir, but I never really sang in front of the church. I think it helped me become the musician I am today in terms of my musicianship and performances,” he added.
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