Asake, Davido’s Signee, Others Who Have Stirred Up Religious Controversies With Their Music Videos
- In a bid to get creative with the visuals for their songs, a number of Nigerian secular singers have, at one time or another, taken a cue from different religions
- This has, however, been met with criticism, with some singers bowing to pressure by deleting religious scenes from their music video
- Adekunle Gold became the latest singer to stir up religious controversies with the music video for his hit song 'The Live I Chose'
- In a chat with Legit.ng, Atinuke, a Christian youth leader, shared her take on the use of religious scenes in secular music videos
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The trend of tapping into religions for secular music videos appears to be back in the Nigerian music industry, and it has equally been met with dissatisfaction from worshippers of different faiths, leading to heated conversations on and off social media.
While creativity is good, religion is one area several Nigerians don't joke with, and singers should respect this.
Source: Instagram
Over the last year, several singers have come under fire over their music videos after they included some religious scenes, which were considered inappropriate.
Legit.ng recalls reporting that In June 2018, rapper and actor Folarin Falana Falz was repeatedly dragged over his music video for his song “This Is Nigeria," which some Muslims considered offensive and inappropriate.
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The viral video showed some girls dressed in hijab dancing to the then-popular “shaku shaku” dance.
Despite the backlash Falz faced, it didn't deter others from going down the same lane.
In this article, Legit.ng lists famous Nigerian singers who have stirred up religious controversies with their music videos.
1. Asake vs Christians over Only Me video
In March 2024, Christians criticised The YBNL star over his newest music video titled “Only Me."
Only Me music video, directed by TG Omori, showed Asake in priestly attire, which didn't go down well with many.
Watch the video below
However, this is not the first time Asake has included a religious scene in his videos. In 2022, a video for his hit song Bandana featuring Fireboy DML showed Asake entering a church with black goats.
2. Jaye Lo by Davido's signee Logos Olori
In 2023, Davido and his DMW signee, Logos Olori, were dragged over a 45-second trailer clip of a musical video for Jaye Lo.
The controversial clip showed some men in white Jallabiya dancing in front of a mosque after performing the Muslim daily prayer, salat.
Many Muslims, including actor Kannywood Ali Nuhu, expressed displeasure as they called for the scene to be deleted.
Davido later bowed to the pressure by taking down the video.
3. Adekunle Gold told to leave Christian relics alone
The Orente Crooner in March dropped a visual for his new song, The Life I Chose.
In a clip, Adekunle Gold was seen staring at a cross placed on the wall while a crown-like object, similar to Jesus Christ's crown of thorns, was seen on the singer's head.
Several Christians flooded Adekunle's social media pages to tackle him.
4. Harrysong and ladies dressed as Catholic nuns
Harrysong caused an uproar online over after sharing a clip from his soon-to-be-released music video.
In the video, the 'Reggae Blues' crooner was spotted walking side by side with some ladies dressed like catholic nuns.
This spurred reactions from many, especially Christians.
5. Seyi Vibez criticised for using Quran verse
In 2023, Seyi Vibez stirred reactions after dropping a new song snippet.
The singer shared a video of the song with a Quran verse as part of its lyrics.
Several Muslims took to social media to call on Seyi Vibez to delete the verse.
Why Christians don't speak up against secular music videos
According to Atinuke, the diversity of doctrines in Churches makes it difficult for them to stand against the use of religious scenes in secular music videos.
She said:
"Christianity has diverse doctrines, so what this church accepts as good may not be cool with another. The same applies to music, Mofofayo by Spirit of Prophecy for example, I was told it is a secular beat and rhythm but was changed to gospel. Muslims will never accept such."
Davido's Isreal apologises to Muslims
Legit.ng recalls reporting that Davido’s aide, Isreal DMW, reacted to the viral drama between the DMW label boss and Muslims.
Isreal apologised to Muslims, noting that the controversial music video was an entertainment effort that was wrongly presented.
“Let me specially apologise to my Muslim brothers and sisters on the video my oga posted," he said.
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Source: Legit.ng
