Ghanaian gospel musician, Empress Gifty, has disclosed why she has started singing in the English language.
Her ‘Odi Yompo’ and the latest ‘Awieye Pa’ songs are predominantly in English unlike most of her earlier works which are rendered in Twi and sometimes in her native language, Awutu.
Explaining the inspiration behind her recent knack to sing in English she said on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z that it is as a result of her quest to reach a larger audience.
“I think my traveling and the kind of people that I meet, I have learnt a lot because sometimes when you go outside and you wanna minister, sometimes you need to explain your song,” Empress told Kwame Dadzie.
She said she had personally had that experience on two occasions so she decided to add some English lines when composing her songs.
“[So] I try to fuse the English,” she noted.
Empress is currently out with a new song titled Awieye Pa. It was written by gospel musician Ewura Abena and produced by Shadrack Yawson.
The role of language in the marketability of songs across different countries has engendered controversy in various spheres of the music industry.
While some believe that music is a universal language and that it can sell everywhere in the world regardless of the language in which it is done, others are of the school of thought that people relate to music better if they understand what is being communicated in the lyrics.
Watch Empress Gifty’s Awieye Pa, done predominantly in English below: