10 Nigerian Artists That Started From The Church

We have the church to thank for most of the great music artists we have today. As surprising as it may sound, many of your favorite artists actually started from the church. To shock you more, some of them are Pastor’s kids. Keep reading to find some of the artists in this category but don’t let people know that we told you.

Don Jazzy

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Don Jazzy: Let’s start this list with one of the best producers in the Nigerian music industry, Don Jazzy. Don Jazzy’s success as a music producer can be traced back to the church where he played different instruments.

Banky W

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Banky W: Banky W became a church boy when he left the United States with his family for Lagos State, Nigeria. He joined the church choir at age 8, and we can say he got his skills right from the church.

Chidinma Ekile

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Chidinma Ekile: The one time Project Fame winner, Chidinma Ekile started as a chorister at the Foursquare Gospel Church. After testing the waters for a while in the secular music world, she decided to go back to singing the gospel. She made this announcement a few days ago after releasing a gospel track.

Wizkid

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Wizkid: Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid started singing at the Church as early as 11 years old under the name “Lil Prinz”. We don’t know the story behind how he changed from “Lil Prinz” to “Wizkid” but he is a church boy that we are proud of.

Waje

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Waje: Waje, an embodiment of vocals, charisma and talent started as a choir member at the Word of Faith Church, Benin. She was so good that the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa took care of her secondary education. She is a talent that the church will be proud of.

D’Banj

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D’Banj: D’Banj is one of the artists we were talking about. He wasn’t only a church boy but a Pastor’s kid who learnt the accordion from his late brother. He went on to become a great rapper and superstar.

Kcee

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Kcee: Kcee is also the son of a pastor who was very active in his church choir. He started his band from the church and released a Gospel album before venturing into Hip-Hop.

Cobhams

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Cobhams: Obviously, Cobhams is one of those artists that started their music career in the church. Cobhams starting playing the piano as little as age 8: He played for St. Charles Iwanga Catholic Church, Ikeja; St. Christopher’s Church and the Protestant Church. By age 13, he found a PSS-51 piano where he discovered that he could record multi-tracks at the same time.

While many of the artists like Chidinma Ekile and Kcee that started from the church have gone back to their root, by singing Gospel songs, the majority of them are still churning out great secular music and making the most of their talents.