Omo Iya Shola
We often accuse Gospel music ministers of singing other people’s songs without acknowledging them. Not that the perpetrators are ready to desist nor the owners of the said songs ready to act in accordance to the law so we almost always let it slide. When a Gospel Music minister takes an old song, remakes it to modern tastes, we almost think they composed the song themselves. we do not mind that they didn’t bother to acknowledge the original owners of the songs. We just fall in love with the songs all over again as we gain new insights to the messages embedded therein.
Here are five of those songs you probably didn’t know are remakes of old songs;
- AYO CLASSIC by Kenny Saint Best (KSB).
This medley of old Yoruba Joy – themed Hymnals is indeed a classic any day. KSB should be commended for digging into the archives and re introducing these songs in ways that re-validates their relevance. Although she did these set of songs over 10 years ago, It still resonates with today’s sound, message and vibe. If you have not heard it before, you can watch here
- WE OSE by Banita Okojie
Okay, so there is this old Igbo song which was originally sung by NKWA group and remade by Paul Nwokocha people has so much meaning and depth (as do a lot of Igbo songs by the way) and for a long while it was an exclusive right of Igbo indigenous speakers alike. I want to assume that Benita was praying one day and the song came to her mind; she sang it and decided that such reach in depth and wonderful way of attributing praises to God should not be an exclusive preserve of the Igbo language so she knew she had to translate it into the Edo and Yoruba Languages both of which she has full grasps of. Apart from the translations, she did justice to the delivery and added her own elements to it. When we listen to the song, we almost wish it was originally hers. This song my good people is a classic example of a perfect remake.
AKA AKAYA Gabriel Eziashi
He just nailed this on every point. In fact this is one of the songs a lot of people do not know is a re make of the original by Brother Isreal Anyanele and Agape Love Band because he made it his own. Even if it were, no one would have been surprised because every one of his single tracks is always a hit. He simply owned every inch of it and served it fresh again. The good thing is he has made this song lovable by all race and creed.
ANYI NA JA by Stella Damasus.
Stella made her version of the song purely vocal bringing out attributes and deep meanings to the song. i like how she kept it simple and void of any drama. it is quit interesting though how she managed to divert from worship to special number.
AGIDIGBA by Tim Godfery
Tim Geoffrey pumped life into this track and made it very dance able and we love him for that. Another impressive thing about the song is that he took the chorus and made it a complete song on its own. no doubt this sing will still trend for a long time to come.
