Nigerian singer Seyi Shay left her church after fighting with leaders about music choices. Church officials wanted members to sing traditional hymns instead of modern gospel songs during services. The leadership demanded scripture-based worship rather than contemporary Christian music. Seyi Shay disagreed with this decision and stopped attending completely. She believes many traditional hymns carry harmful historical connections that worshippers should avoid.
The artist pointed out that slave owners wrote numerous hymns still used today across churches worldwide. These same songs were forced upon enslaved African people during centuries of brutal treatment. Seyi Shay questions how anyone could feel blessed singing music connected to such terrible history. She encourages church members to research the backgrounds of songs before singing them during worship. The singer believes ignorance about hymn origins goes against true religious values.
Seyi Shay admits that not every traditional hymn comes from problematic sources or creators. However, she insists that many popular church songs do have connections to slavery and oppression. The artist suggests churches should write new praise music based directly on biblical scripture. This approach would create fresh worship experiences without carrying forward harmful historical baggage. She promotes spiritual authenticity through awareness of what people sing during religious services.
The artist pointed out that slave owners wrote numerous hymns still used today across churches worldwide. These same songs were forced upon enslaved African people during centuries of brutal treatment. Seyi Shay questions how anyone could feel blessed singing music connected to such terrible history. She encourages church members to research the backgrounds of songs before singing them during worship. The singer believes ignorance about hymn origins goes against true religious values.
Seyi Shay admits that not every traditional hymn comes from problematic sources or creators. However, she insists that many popular church songs do have connections to slavery and oppression. The artist suggests churches should write new praise music based directly on biblical scripture. This approach would create fresh worship experiences without carrying forward harmful historical baggage. She promotes spiritual authenticity through awareness of what people sing during religious services.
