Overview:
Founded in 2018, Maverick City Music burst on the Christian contemporary scene with a series of videos featuring interracial groups of performers and a sound that leaned away from the culturally Black sound of gospel. Gyamfi is widely credited with bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to the music collective, resulting in multiple awards and an exploding fan base.
On July 25, Norman Gyamfi, co-founder of Maverick City Music, a Christian worship music collective, appeared on gospel singer Isaac Carree’s podcast. The episode was titled, “The Truth about the Gospel Industry That They Don’t Want to Hear.”
When the mics came on, Gyamfi — a driving force behind Grammy award-winning music that blends Black Gospel music with white Christian contemporary music — took the title to heart. Asked when he knew gospel music had to change, he didn’t pull any punches.
RELATED: Baltimore Choir Takes Black Church Worship to Carnegie Hall
“I’m’a be straight up,” he said. “I knew it the first day.”
The music “was stale,” he told Carree. “The gospel norms wasn’t working no more. Y’all sing too hard. Y’all over-sing. Stop doing that. Nobody wants to hear no runs.”
Foundation of Black Music
Gyamfi went on to declare that choir music is dead, boasted about being a Trump voter and said white listeners “get” what Maverick City Music is trying to do: erase the lines between mostly-Black gospel and largely-white Christian contemporary music genres.
People keep saying, ‘We want choir music,’ but choir music would’ve never died if people wanted to listen to it. If people still wanted quartets, quartets would’ve never died.”
Norman Gyamfi, Maverick city music executive
And that’s when the fight broke out on social media.
Some agreed with Gyamfi that Black “struggle gospel music” heavy with themes of woe and strife, had to change with the times, while others blasted the entrepreneur for being more interested in making money than glorifying God. Gyamfi’s critics accused him of disrespecting Black American history, the gospel story and the gospel-music pioneers on whose shoulders he is standing.
Culturally-Black gospel music, Gyamfi’s critics say, has always told the story of the people — whether it be spiritual emancipation through Jesus Christ, or political emancipation from chattel slavery through the laws of the land.
“They will never be able to relate to Gospel [music], they don’t know our struggle,” @GiftedCJohnson wrote on X, alluding to Gyamfi’s African heritage. “Gospel and Blues are the foundation of our musical traditions and culture that we gave to the world . They can only try to mimic our sound, never truly feel or know what we’ve been through.”
Dissing Tradition
On Carree’s podcast, the music mogul insisted that no one wants to hear traditional Gospel any more, and that’s fine with him. Unlike traditional choirs and music, his blend of white writers and mostly Black performers are bringing in worshippers and helping grow congregations.
“People keep saying we want choir music, but choir music would’ve never died if people wanted to listen to it,” Gyamfi said. “If people still wanted quartets, quartets would’ve never died.”
He said gospel music needs to evolve to remain relevant, especially if churches want more young people in the pews. Traditional institutions, he said, missed their chance to ride the new wave with Maverick City Music.
Bishop Marvin Sapp, acclaimed gospel recording artist and founder of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, agreed that gospel music must evolve and improve, but parted ways with Gyamfi on discarding Black gospel heritage or identity.
“Don’t Throw Away What Built Us”
“I’ve witnessed and contributed to every major shift in our genre,” Sapp wrote in a Facebook post. ”But let me be clear: I didn’t get here by rejecting tradition. I got here by respecting it, learning from it, and evolving beyond it without erasing it.”
“What concerned me most was how some walked away from the interview not inspired, but insulted,” he said. ”Offended by a tone that felt like it discarded the very people who’ve labored in this space long before streaming ever existed.”
Sapp left a word of encouragement.
LEARN MORE: There’s More to 2819 Church Than an ‘Obey Cops’ Controversy
“Don’t let disruptive language keep you from discerning the message,” he said. “Don’t let offense block opportunities for growth. Don’t confuse a call for progress with an attack on legacy. And above all, don’t throw away what built us in the name of what’s next.”
Dr. Patrick Alston, a church musician and music teacher, agreed that there is “a lot of truth” to Gyamfi’s argument. But he decried what he said is another moment of publicly airing conflict within the church.
“Everybody has a problem with the Black church, but no one has a problem when they’re making money and having engagements,” he says. “But the minute they don’t get their way, they have church hurt. What we do in the church is remarkable.”