Popular hitmaker cum business guru Muthoni the Drama Queen aka MDQ publicly supported Willy Paul’s new music in a thread on social media that has since gone viral.
The songstress not only encouraged Willy Paul to continue breaking the rules and shaking up the industry, but she also condemned the acts of ‘fake’ Christian musicians who only get into the gospel industry in Kenya since it is what sells.
Lately, we have seen so many secular artists convert to Christianity including Size 8, Wahu, Amani and Collo from Kleptomaniax just to name a few. Scandals in the gospel industry have followed one after another and this further proves her point. From DK allegedly raping a girl and transmitting herpes to Mr. Seed allegedly cheating on his young wife on their marital bed.
Here is Muthoni’s rant in detail:
Willy Paul, gospel music & the bullshit that got us here. A thread.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Let’s be clear Willy Paul is NOT the bullshit here. I think he is very talented. IMO he has been long overdue to make a clean break from fake gospel industry, the injili crowd+the corporate Ksh that keeps pushing it. I sincerely long for him to really develop himself as an artist
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Before wasafi was a wave, I ranted to anyone who could listen that Willy Paul had the ability to dominate all Kiswahili speaking Africa & maleable enough to fit with Congolese/Lusaphone/Island Africa. I spoke about this idea with conviction to @shaffieweru and #Bien from Sautisol
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
I wish I had reached out to him directly. I was afraid to be misunderstood. @willypaulmsafii you are a good artist. You write & sing well. You have good control over your body & voice on stage. You have access & influence. You don’t need ‘gospel’ and don’t need gimmicks. At all.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Ditch the church crowd&everything that comes with it. This ‘bad boy’ image, make it your reality. Curse on tracks. Get 100 tattoos. Do whatever & exactly what you want to do. Just write us real stories. Work with excellent producers. Shape your own sound. Own your own narrative.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Burn the bridge to your old life. Whoever you loose will by far be compensated by the ones you will gain. Also remember, Kenyans love you when you succeed. You’ve done it before, you will do it again @willypaulmsafii. Be freed of the gospel + Kenyans expectations
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
And now to the bullshit that got us here. Musicians need to eat. The regular paying gigs are in church&in schools. You can’t enter schools if you’re not gospel. Of course ‘artists’ will continue to bullshit for as long as the opportunities come with strings attached.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Remember how in boarding school we lived for funkies/enta/Cow-D? Remember how important music was for you then? Nothing has changed. For artists, that’s spurred competition. That’s why ‘ KE gospel’ slaps so hard. It’s not about Jesus. It’s about moving the masses of bodies.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Corporate KE is very tied to bottom line ie numbers. The more bodies you can move▶️the bigger the song▶️ the higher the ranking as artist▶️ the more likely you can get that corporate cheque. So now you know why the lineups to those corporate sponsored gigs look like they do
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
And then there is us the fans. We know when we hear the song there’s nothing to do with Jesus/gospel. Just a sprinkle of hallelujah here & there to satisfy the criteria. The church knows too, but the youth numbers are attractive, plus the gospel hustle is real ie. Prophets/Kyuna
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
So we all perpetuate the bullshit because the song slaps. Let’s be clear. If an the entertainer has enough creativity to make something you like/love, they’re not the bullshitter. It is you who insists they have to be gospel so they can access your time/love/money/audience
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
So many dope producers/entertainers stuck in ‘gospel’ bcos it’s the access to KE market. What if we as fans just said fuck fake gospel. If the music doesn’t induce worship in spirit & truth, it isn’t gospel & doesn’t need to pretend to be. It’s just it’s own fly wave & that’s ok
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Think ‘odi’ the original song that brought the wave. Think bazokizo. Think Ngori. These songs have been real cultural moments hiding under a gospel wave for acceptability. It’s really time to say Fuck it! Fuck respectability. Fuck fakeness. Fuck the Bullshit. (I see you cringing)
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
We’ve got to break the smallness and the silence. The children need to see&feel&know their flyness without BS. Fake boring/whack/untalented artists (an actual oxymoron🙄) Fuck fake gospel. Yes to more freedom, creativity, expression, access and authentic vibes. Yes to artistry.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
And most importantly yes to the new, real Willy Paul. Drop the gimmicks bro. Build your new path for real. You’ve got what it takes. I pray 200 more fake gospel artists vuka the sakafu and join Willy in being their whole, authentic, creative selves. We need that.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Like I said. If it doesn’t make you worship in spirit and truth, it isn’t gospel. That doesn’t make it bad. That makes it not gospel. So it needs to loose the tag gospel because it’s fake gospel & be what it really is.
— #MuthoniDrummerQueen (@muthoniDQ) July 31, 2019
Her rant has elicited mixed reactions from Kenyans with some in support of her while others are completely opposed to her ideas. Check out the reactions below:
Hii kiingereza yote sidhani Willy ataelewa.
— Yo!! (@Lansbrown) July 31, 2019
Trash detected. Ulikuwa mlevi ukiandika hii upussy.. 🚮
— Samira (@IAmSamirah) August 1, 2019
escrava_esaura
As much as i hate to say anything abt religion/ gospel i admit there is something very fishy going on chini ya ocean about the gospel industry in kenya to be exact and the so called holier than thous judging pple like willypozee bt we meet them huko mtaani and see ( this untouchable gospeligious😕pple ) and see wat they do behind the curtains. Why the hypcracy??. With that said be yourself willy pozee everyone will be judged for their own sins. I hav mine to take care of so am out!!!!
wanjiru_woman
Willy ungana tu ochungulo family akin ethic 😂 but ju anataka kutrend haezi acha gospel music hapo ndo pesa ziko hamuoni hivo😂
tutamangeli
Facts, Kenyans love him they just hate it when he fakes it. Im pretty sure if he concentrates on himself and music he will still be as succesful cause he is talented.
starnostarno06
Kelele za chura haziwezi kumzuia ng’ombe kunywa maji😂😂😂😂
See how Kenyans love the good authentic Gospel from across the border in Tz and actually dance to it in clubs.
— Obare Bw'obare Evans🇰🇪 (@evansokenya) July 31, 2019
I stopped reading when I saw : Willy Paul is NOT the bullshit here…. pic.twitter.com/UevsEhTCq6
— Robert Josochi (@robertjosochi) August 1, 2019
Just to add…
Maybe Willy Paul never claimed himself as a gospel artist but the fans tagged him with such title which he deemed to fit him and right now, the "fake skin" has aged & its wearing off showing the real one.
— Vallency F. Otieno (@VallencyOtieno) July 31, 2019
For me Willy Paul and a large chunk of the gospel industry are not following Jesus and have never been gospel. So they can express their talent in whatever way. But for the true gospel artistes, keep doing clean content #unashamed. And live that life that you speak of.
— Robbie Omol (@Robbie_KE) August 1, 2019
All KE songs lack content and we are a mediocre fan base who believe singing and laughing to stupidity is fun, who can blame us, its all political.
— UE1fS2VybmVs (@UE1fS2VybmVs) August 1, 2019
Why does an artist have to be either a gospel artist or not, though? I know we hang sauti sol to dry when they sang kuliko jana but it was a great and authentic song.
Let's do away with this constrained talent industry altogether.— Flo Maina (@MugureMaina) August 1, 2019
A majority of 'gospel djs' too
— shangatatu (@shangatatu) July 31, 2019
You make a poignant point and I agree with your conclusion on Willy Paul et al but not necessarily how you got to the conclusion and the potentially pernicious undertones your points are laced with.
— Nairobi Cynic (@NairobiCynic) July 31, 2019