Preaching gospel by hip-hop

Edgar Moyana Christian Entertainment
Nigel Maritinyu aka Slick is an up-coming hip-hop gospel artiste, who this year in August released a debut six-track album.
At 22 years, the young artiste who is a member of ZAOGA church has set his eyes on preaching the gospel and influencing youths through hip-hop gospel music.

In the interview below, Nigel discusses how he ventured into music and the story behind his debut album.

Edgar Moyana (EM): Tell me about yourself?
Nigel Maritinyu (NM): I’m a young gospel hip-hop artiste who has just released his first album. The album has been doing pretty well on Overdose (Gospel Hip-hop show) on Power FM. I have also been involved in concerts in the last half of this year.

My stage name is SLICK, which is an abbreviation for “Simply Living In Christ’s Kindness”.

I am not married. I am 22 years old and I stay with my aunt, though I prefer to call her my mum.

EM: What is the name of your album and how has been its reception on the market generally?
NM: My album is titled “Blessed” and basically talks about the blessedness of having God as our father, saviour and helper. It’s a blessing to be a child of God. It is doing well on the market as evidenced by its success on the charts.

EM: How did you become a gospel artiste?
NM: I have always loved music from a young age. Being raised in a Christian family I had the conviction to reflect my faith through my lyrics because art, especially hip-hop is a form of expression of one’s feelings, beliefs and thoughts.

EM: Where have you performed before, and in your album, did you partner with any known artistes?
NM: In August this year I performed at Christ Centric Concert then later performed at the Bring It On concert. I also performed at Northside Church, and at a youth function at Kingdom Word Ministries. I didn’t work with any known artistes but I have plans for that on my next album. I would love to work with artistes like Mudiwa, Thembalani and others.

EM: Part of your stage name SLICK talks about Christ’s kindness. Explain what you mean by Christ’s kindness?
NM: Well, basically looking at my life, I cannot take credit for any of my achievements. It’s all been because of the unmerited kindness of Christ. I lost my father and mum in 1993 and 2004, but God has seen me through life’s difficulties.

EM: What steps are you taking as a youth and Christian to stay in Christ’s kindness and grace?
NM: Staying faithfully in God’s word and making it a standard for my life in order to resist life’s temptations.

EM: I understand you are a student at university. How do you balance showbiz and academics?
NM: It’s a bit challenging but what I do is focus mostly on recordings and studio stuff during vacations. During the semester I do concerts or shows on weekends.

EM: Why in your view do most young gospel artistes prefer hip-hop as their choice of genre?
NM: I think every generation has its own dominant culture, and this is shown in all aspects of life such as fashion and music. Hip-hop is probably the best way to reach out to youthful audiences.

EM: Being musician these days is difficult because of music piracy and competition. What keeps you motivated?
NM: Piracy is quite a problem but with modern technology, encryption of recorded music is now possible. However there is need for stricter laws to fight piracy. What keeps me motivated is my faith and belief in God. I believe He put something special in me to make me unique in my own way.

EM: What is the status of acceptance of hip-hop gospel in Zimbabwe?
NM: I think gospel hip-hop is rising but it may take longer before the music can be commercial like other forms of music. I have however seen amazing turn-outs at concerts I have participated in.

EM: How far do you think your music contributes to spiritual growth, social and behavioural change among youths and people in general?
NM: My music is in a huge way influenced by the word of God so I believe it sensitises youths on the need to always study God’s word.

Behavioural change is always possible when people acknowledge the role of God in their lives. In some of my songs I dwell more on encouragement, which I believe is one of the key elements to spiritual growth.

EM: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
NM: By 2018 my name will be associated with soul-winning through hip-hop music.

EM: What can be done to help up-coming artistes produce internationally competitive music?
NM: I think it’s a matter of exposure and also getting proper mentorship. We need to get platforms on international events and must also learn from experienced musicians.