← Lead Worship Well
Lead Worship Well
From Spirituals To Gospel To Today’s Worship with Dee Jones (MultiTracks Africa Brand Manager)
00:51:01
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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to the Lead Worship well podcast. I'm your host, Chris Baker. This Black History Month, we're tracing the sound that carried the people from spirituals to gospel to today's worship and how that river now flows across Africa and back again. With me is producer and multitrack's Africa brand ambassador, Dee Jones, to talk about mission music and the future of a truly global church. Let's dive into today's episode. Hey, friends, it's Chris Baker here on the Lead Worship well podcast. I am super excited today about the conversation that we're going to have. Joining us today is none other than the incomparable, the legend himself, De Jones.
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B
Oh, my God.
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A
D is the brand ambassador for multitracks Africa. He's a great friend, and I absolutely love this dude. So excited about the conversation. D. Bro, how you doing?
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B
Listen, it's an honor and a privilege to sit here and talk to you, bro. You're a legend. You are a great man. Great wisdom, pedigree, anointing experience. So I'm honored to. To be talking to a legend, you know, in the game.
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A
I don't know who he's talking about.
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B
I'm talking about me. I'm Talking about you, Dr. Chris Baker. You know, so honored to be having this conversation with you, bro.
- [01:24]
A
Yeah, dude, we are. We are excited. Let's jump right in for our listeners. They're meeting you for the first time, man. Let's talk about your calling. You know, you are a producer, you are a writer, you are a pastor. You are like a. Just a renaissance dude. You do a lot, man. Just. Let's talk about that. Kind of take us back to the beginning. When did you know you. This was like, why God put you on this earth. Listen, when you came into the understanding
- [01:47]
B
of your calling, listen, it's a great question. And a lot of people sometimes when I say all the things that I do, you hear them say, they don't say it, but you. You can feel it. You know, Jack of all trades. Jack of all trades, master of none. And then. But the complete, the complete statement says, still better than a master of one. I gotta say that. So, you know, and also Paul, the apostle Paul says, I can do all things, yeah, Through Christ who strengthens me. So I. I started, you know, when I was at the age of seven, introduced to the piano. And by nine, I was already playing the church. And by 13, I was touring with, you know, the biggest gospel artists in Africa. We call him the father of gospel music, Dr. Panam Percy. Paul came to see me play and back in the day, we didn't have a bass player, so I would split the keys on bass. And my left finger became so proficient just because I had a necessity. So he. He took me on the road, and I, I fired all bass players. I apologize to all the bass players. And I, I, I, you know, got out of a job back then, but I've been playing since then. Grew from just keyboard playing to directing music, to leading worship, to producing and then writing, and. And the rest has just been history. It's just a lot to get into. But I started just playing keys at church. My local Ch. Else just kind of evolved from there. Different assignments and different seasons that God, you know, led me into. And it was the right season at the right time, because it was a natural shift. It was not programmed and doctored. It was just something that just shifted at the right time. Because the right season will demand the right assignment from you.
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A
Oh, the right season will demand the right assignment. He's preaching. All right. I mean, come on, bro.
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B
You.
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A
We are two minutes in and you're already preaching. No, I, I love that. I love that.
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B
Yeah. Yes, sir. So every season has just been ushered in by the demand for it. And you mentioned pastoring three years and now lead pastor of the gathering Houston, where we're over 300 people, young on fire, people like you. Church God is doing amazing things. And then multitracks, brand manage Africa at the right time. I walked into multitracks to do an acoustic session. I met you, met Oscar, met Philip. Israel was there. We got into conversations, and a few months later, you know, I'm brand manager for Africa. And that has also led to so many incredible things. And it's just an honor I'm privileged to serve in this capacity that God has just gifted me.
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A
Wow, dude. And he's hit the ground running. I mean, we launched, and then we went straight to Africa for the big lunch. We're going to kind of getting that, get into that in a moment. You kind of unpack so much right there in that statement as it pertains to purpose and it being revealed as opposed to, you know, searching and being and so anxious for it. How did you just kind of come to a better understanding of that? Because a lot of people were trying to figure out, okay, guy, what's next? What's the next thing you have for me? Let's talk to the person that's trying to figure that out. What would you say to them?
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B
Man, that's a great question. A wise man told me one time that Your passions are a clue to what God is calling you, to the things that you're like earning to correct. You know, I knew that when I started I got fascinated by the keys and I started spending time because my brother ran a church at the time. And then it was in the hotel. So they'll pack after each service and go back home and, you know, so I'll just plug the keyboard and just started messing with it. And that's how I fell in love with it. And when I would go to church, there was an older guy, God bless his soul, older gentleman who was playing. It was a Casio, CTK636.
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A
I know what you're talking about.
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B
DICASIO Dude, CTK636 I believe. And there were things I know you could do. But then I was not a keyboard player at church. So it was this guy and he would just go and, you know, press the pipe organ. And it was just organ because he loved the organ. But the church was like contemporary. We would do, you know, we're doing Ron Canoli songs that time. We were doing Don Moen songs. But then he would play them with the organ. And I was like, organ. And yeah, pipe organ. I'm like that. It don't sound right. God, I don't. This. I could do better. I could this thing and. And God just, I. I started to have passions and I went, you know, just started, you know, messing with the keyboards. I could do different sounds, the piano. The eps got the, you know, Clavs and all of that. And I strings and I knew how to just work it. And one day I went to church early, turned it on when it was set up before he came. And I was so short because he was taller. I brought a stool, stepped on it and started to play the entire singers. When they came, they were like, oh my God, how did you learn to do that? Like they were like, oh, they've never heard that keyboard being played like that ever. And they said, you are playing Praise Worship today. Do you know this song? You know that song? I had sat down, God told me, and this is something else before God will reveal you to the public. He will prepare you in private. And I took time, like 30 songs that I know. We used to sing in church. I learned progression, I taught myself self taught how to move with progressions. You know how to go to four, you go to five, you go to six, you know, all I knew how to play was one, four, five and one. That's it. So we started playing and I told him, yes, I knew the songs and I was prepared. And that was it. From that day on, he was fired. He never played again, like, ever again. He came to church and I was playing and he's like, okay. He went back and sat down. So I feel like, you know, something that you want to correct, something that bothers you, something that is in your heart, something like, you know, I feel like God looking at David, seeing how his heart went out to sheep, like he risked his life for sheep, like a lion, no, no problem. A bear, no problem. God is like, if you can feel this way about sheep, how about my people? And I feel like for me, I just wanted to correct something that I thought it didn't sound right. The worship wasn't clicking. And I guess God put that desire in me. And then the natural talent was born or the ability was born. So for someone who is in that season, I'll ask that you ask the manufacturer if a product is, you know, you don't know how to work a product. You go read the manual. God is the manufacturer. He's the one that has put gifts in you. If you don't know what he wants you to do, just go, go to God. Ask him for wisdom, for direction, and then the natural things that you're gifted with, I think it'll be evident, you know, there'll be evidence around you that you're naturally gifted in this area. You know, explore it, go for it. And then for me, I realized I had talent. And then talent, I had to put hard work and dedic and it became skill. So the Bible says David was skillful, you know, in playing. And he had other qualifications. He was not just skillful, he was a mighty man of war. He was valiant, he was prudent in speech, he was good looking. But the most important criteria that he had was and God was with him. So I think whenever I got on those keys and I played, people felt the presence of God. Worship was seamless. And then it would be a natural thing. Because if God has given you a gift, he will give you the ability for you to function in that gift.
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A
That's so powerful. That's so powerful. And the Bible also says your gift will make room for you. Yes, sir. And it led you to multi tracks.
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B
Amen.
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A
I remember the day when I met you for the first time. You were there with an incredible artist, Sinatra. And she's awesome.
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B
She's awesome.
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A
But just meeting you for the first time, having that conversation with you, I text Oscar immediately. I said, I think we found our guy. Your passion for the local church, your passion for the global church. Let me put it that way. And so when we were just kind of talking about the desire to have a presence and serve the local church in Africa, you were the person that you was the only person that we said, hey, this is the guy.
- [10:33]
B
I have to say that absolutely owe that to you, because I know your input, like you saying, this is the guy, is the reason why I'm here. So shout out to Baker, making sure that, you know, it worked out. I appreciate you, man.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And.
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And you have, like I said, you jumped in. And when I tell you it's been a whirlwind.
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B
Yeah.
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A
From the time that this idea was just in this conception phase and iteration phase, and now it's actually launched. Take us through that whole process. Why Multitracks Africa?
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B
You know, when you and Oscar shared the vision, and, you know, we talked to Philip a little bit about it, and I took time to study the company and just see your heart. And this is a company that is heart first, service first. And for me, it's not profit first. It's not, let's go in and make money. That really touched my heart. I'm like, okay, this company that leads with the heart, that really wants to serve the local church or the global church. And for me also, I see it was a bridge, and I guess it's gonna lead us to that. It was a bridge to connect, you know, the west and Africa. I felt like it was a tool for a seamless, you know, collaboration with songs being sang different parts of the world. For a long time, it was just one directional where it was just songs from the states, songs from the uk, you know, just hitting the world as it should, as it has. But, you know, Africa started rising. Africa, the sound of worship, you know, and a different approach to it was just becoming global, and it has become global. And I feel like Multitracks is the company that will bridge the gap between churches between, you know, the African American church and the African church, the CCM Christian Contemporary church, you know, and the African church is going to be a seamless blend when those resources become available. Why should an American church sing African songs? You know, because we have African churches for decades singing, you know, American songs, and gladly as well. But now that the songs from Africa, the sound from Africa is rising, we should make it easy for American churches who are structured to have access to those songs. So it was a yes for me when I, you know, God showed me the possibilities of, okay, now the worship leader from a local church in a small town in Africa can write a song that. That becomes a global anthem. We've seen that with Sinatra. You know, she says it all the time. You interviewed her in our conversation. She's like, I'm just a little girl from a small village in Nigeria, you know, and God gave me a song that shook the world, you know, and I was privileged to be part of that song. So imagine other people who God has given, you know, songs that are. Could be anthems, you know. Globally, Multitracks becomes the company that makes it easy for those songs to be accessible by churches all over the world. And for me, I'm like, this is the bridge. And I love when God is unifying his people, because God is all about unity. He's all about love, and he's all about collaboration and togetherness. So for me, it was the easy. Yes, it was easy. Yeah.
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A
That collaboration and togetherness was definitely evident when we. Last month, December, we took a trip to Lagos, Nigeria. Come on. And we had an amazing time. We actually. It was the launch event. Yes. For Multitracks Africa. And when I tell you, from the time our feet touched down in Lagos, it was just. It was so amazing. The people were so hospitable. The people were so hungry for just God, just his presence. What we were there to do and serve the local church there. Just kind of bring our listeners into some of the highlights from that trip from your vantage point as the brand ambassador. It was your brainchild. You was the person that put so much work into this amazing launch. And when I tell you, bro, you did an excellent job, an incredible job. Thank you so much. What were some of the highlights or takeaways from that launch and that experience?
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B
Man, there's so many highlights. I mean, where do I begin to have you? Oscar in the room. And Philip sent a video that just opened up the whole, you know, event. Just sharing the heart of the company and you being on the panel and just having conversations with people. And the conversation went a little, you know, into ministry and how people were seeing tracks as, you know, barriers. And, you know, we're able to show them that you can still enjoy your spontaneous worship and, you know, and experiences, you know, the conversations we had with a local pastor, Logic Church, you. That was a great worship conversation we had. I mean, that was really good. You know, it was a great conversation and just meeting worship leaders and music directors who were super excited. They're coming from the world of logic. They've not even used, you know, any Ableton live or nothing to see them Just so excited about using, stepping into the multitrack ecosystem and to see that we had ministry moments where there was an altar call and people were just, you know, burnt out, tired, you know, burdened, you know, we laid hands on people like it was, is amazing to going for the experience. Oh my God. And seeing you jump on stage with Israel and ending moment with you and your son. Come on, it's like, pick a highlight, man. It was, it was great. From trying like some strange food that you're like, nah, I'm not doing that.
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Like, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that. I'm not.
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B
And, and just also seeing the beauty of just the continent and just meeting people that just love God and just want to, just want to serve him. Also to the challenges that came. We had some challenges as well, but hey, God got the glory at the end of it. It was just great. And because of that launch, I don't know if, you know, this word got out and now there's a three city opportunity in South Africa.
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A
Wow.
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B
Yes. So one of the largest companies in South Africa reached out to help to bring Multitracks Africa to South Africa. And we're doing Durban, we're doing Cape Town, and we're doing Johannesburg.
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A
Wow.
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B
Yes.
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A
Wow. And that's so exciting. That's so exciting to those listeners. Of course, those that are stateside, they, they have, you know, an awareness of what multitracks is. But to our African brothers and sisters that are maybe new to the platform. Yes. What problem or impediment would you say that Multitracks Africa is designed to, to solve?
- [17:40]
B
Several, I would say, because I feel like it might be debatable, but you cannot debate the facts because God is a God of excellence. Yes. There's a time King David said, I will not give God anything that will cost me nothing. A piece of land was being offered to him for free to build the house of God. He's like, no, I will pay full price for this because it's for my God. I think it's just a mindset that excellence is not a destination. It's a mindset and it's a spirit. Because the Bible says the spirit of excellence came upon Daniel and he was excellent in everything that he did, even though he did it with barest, the barest minimals. Like he didn't have, you know, he didn't defile himself with the king's portion. He's like, I'm just going to eat vegetables. And the Bible says he was 10 times better than all his equals. For me, I think multi tracks bring structure and excellence to the church. Why would you want to struggle and play a song that could bring the atmosphere, you know, the spirit of God down, when you could do the song with the elements? Like, I want to hear strings. I want to hear. I want to hear. I want to experience the song with the. Because every song is birthed out of a spirit, you know, when you listen to certain songs, the spirit behind the song arrests. It just takes you over. You know, when I hear holy forever, you just know that that song was born out of a deep place of worship. You know, when you hear, you know, holy, holy are you Lord God? Like it's just born out of. Now imagine being able to experience the elements that the song was recorded in, the way it was supposed to be experienced. Just like the only thing you don't have is the actual, you know, worshiper that leads the song, but you have the whole element.
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A
So I think all the other elements.
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B
Yeah, multitracks brings excellence. It brings structure and it brings, like I said, it's a bridge so the world can sing the same songs. When we get to heaven, we're gonna be singing in one language. We're gonna make it one sound, you know, to one God. It's not gonna be O, this is your sound. This is their sound. This is your. No, we're united in one sound. Like 2 Chronicles 5, 15 Bible says. And the people began to sing and they lifted up their instruments, the Levites and the trumpeters, and they lifted up one voice, making one sound. That means God loves when everything is in symphony and just togetherness. I feel like, you know, that's what stems will do to just enhance the way people worship and just create an atmosphere that is. And it's spontaneous. You can play back and help you jump to different sections. We've seen the videos. So it brings excellence, it brings togetherness, it brings collaboration, builds a bridge. And I think it elevates the local church. It gives us an even playing field, the small church. You don't need to break the bank to experience this. You could just get tracks and you have one or two. The little guy. You have just a keyboard player and a drummer. Well, with tracks. You have a bass player, you have a guitar player, you have strings, you have all of it. And you can seamlessly control it in the multi tracks ecosystem. So I felt like it elevates the whole worship experience, which is what we're doing. Our job is to lead people into God's presence and that's. We want to do it effectively, we want to do it with excellence. And God is not a God of confusion. He's a God of order. And we've seen a. You know, that things are in order with God. And I think that's what multitracks does.
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A
Yeah. And actually, to watch you, first of all, he's the black Steve Jobs dude. If you've never seen D present, it is something to behold. I literally, I was like, bro, all you need is a black turtleneck and some New Balances and you would be in there, bro. You did a remarkable job presenting and introducing to that region playback. And how a lot of it. Because of course, me being over the gospel brain here is some of those same resistance. People are saying, well, with tracks, I feel like I'm restricted, We can't flow. I feel like I'm locked in and et cetera, et cetera. But to really, just really pull the. Open the hood and say, let me show you what playback does.
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B
Yes.
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A
There's not a place that you can go that playback doesn't follow. And it's so the ease of use and the beautiful thing. Dee was watching the light come on all throughout the auditorium when people were seeing the presentation, seeing how robust playback is. And it's easy. You're like, okay, in order to drag this song in, hit this. And just like that, it loads. And with all of the markers and everything. So just kind of. Just kind of seeing that. Yeah, like you were also alluding to. We had a wonderful time too, at the Experience, which is a huge. A huge just worship gathering. I don't know what, 600,000 people. Several hundred thousand people.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Incredible. All types of artists. And I call not artists, but worship leaders from Sinach to Doontan. Let's talk about some of the artists that we will be partnering with that will be on multitracks Africa. Tell us about some of the artists, man.
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B
Good stuff. We. We have Nathaniel Bassey is going to be on there. Yes, is going to be on there. Moses Blizz, Tim Godfrey, Neon just signed. Nosa just signed. BDM is going to sign. Obviously Sinatra is already on there. And we have Joe Metal from Ghana is going to sign in South Africa. I'm going to meet with all of the top worship leaders. I believe we're going to have in too. We're going to have all of them worship leaders. You know, in Kenya. We're going to have Mercy, Masika, we're going to have Evelyn Wanjiru. We're going to have like, the list is endless. We're getting every worshiper on the continent on multitracks. They're excited about the platform. Some of them have heard about multitracks. They know what it was. So we're doing a lot of educating. And some of them are like, you know, never heard of multitracks. Never heard of this. You know, and like, wait, you mean to tell me that we could give our stems and the world could be worshiping? You know, I'm like, oh, my God, this is great. They never heard of it. And some of them are like, we've been waiting. Some of them have been already trying to upload their stems, you know, without knowing how to fully navigate the system.
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A
So just getting them in.
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B
Here they go. Take them. Let's go. I know. You know, so with Africa, I think, fantastic. It's going to be special because it's a continent, so we're going to nation by nation and just gradually just getting people on board. And the next generation is fired up. They're set for it. They're used to tracks, they're waiting and just for the content to be uploaded.
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A
They're ready to go.
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B
They're ready to go.
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A
And a lot of these artists that you named, whether you know them by name or not, you know their music.
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B
Oh, yeah.
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A
And the. The music that they have written is incredible.
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B
Yes, sir.
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A
We do quite a few of those songs in our church. And it's just. It's easy to sing y like a reach. It's not like, you know, we got to take this and flip it a little bit to make it work in our context. You know, it just. It just works. And I think that speaks to. Even though, you know, we're African American and especially gospel music, and we talked about how it was an influence, but I think there's still a lot of similarities between the two genres to where, you know, whether it's rhythmically based, whether it's the way, you know, the vocals are. Are treated. There's so many different similarities. And as a producer, I want to ask you this. Yeah. How do you see that collabor between gospel music and African worship music? Or if you want to just go to Afrobeats, we don't even have to leave it within the context of African worship music. But let's talk about that collaboration because, you know, we stepped in. This is Black History Month, and this is a perfect collaboration just to kind of show you like, yo, we. We, of course, we in a totally different parts of the world, but there's a lot of similarities between our music. Talk about That d. Listen, I. I
- [25:50]
B
don't think you can. You can even have that conversation without mentioning that gospel music is pretty much influenced every African artist that I know. I remember growing up in my era. Even before my era, gospel music was the choir sound, you know, the hymns, you know, it came to Africa. And because there was no Internet, there was no tapes, there was nothing, the people who had the opportunity to come, some of them came back and brought the songs over. So by the time they brought it, it had evolved into something like different rhythms. So they brought partial gospel back, but the power was still there. You know, I grew up listening to choir music. You know, I mean, listen all the greats like Kirk Franklin. I know Ron Canoli is not really big in the States, but like, his sound with integrity. What they did with Don Moyne and, you know, Lionel Penn Peterson and, you know, yeah, it was Paul Wilbar even. We got some, you know, Jewish sound even coming into the continent. But I think every known popular worship leader or artist or even musician that I know will tell you they have gospel roots. Everyone knows how to attempt to play gospel because playing and knowing. Attempting to play it and actually knowing how to play two different things, you know, because I have my fake gospel chops. But when you meet a real gospel piano player, like, you know, you'll be like, okay, just take notes. Take notes right now.
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A
No, honestly, let me ask you this. What are some of the. From your vantage point, because you are an incredible producer and you have produced for so many artists and you have a distinct sound. What are some of the similarities? Like, from the way you approach percussive, you know, loops talk to us about, you know, if you feel comfortable giving.
- [27:44]
B
I feel very comfortable. We don't gatekeep over here. For me, I think it's influences. I mean, I had producers that I listened to that I, you know, on the contemporary music side, but on the praise worship side, Tom Brooks was my idol. Okay? And, you know, Tom Brooks was. He got his gospel chops. He was not just a CCM keyboard player. He really knew his music, and the music he would produce then would have, like, nice progressions, you know, and the songs that had the most impact, where songs that integrity, you know, would record the Don Moyn's and, you know, the Ron Canoli. And Ron Canoli's sound was gospel. I mean, it was. It was praise worship, but it was gospel, you know, so you had the harmonies. So when I would produce a song, it must be a three part harmony thing. You would never hear a D. Joe Song without three part harmony. I don't. I have to be there, there.
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A
That is definitely one similarity is in.
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B
You will not hear any African gospel song without harmonies. Three part gospel influenced harmonies with inversions, with dynamics. It'll start off unison and then it will go three part low and then it inverts and then we hit, we go, it climaxes and you know, the vamp, it hits you. It is still the same thing. So. So you will not hear any African praise worship song that would not have three parts. That's definitely gospel. And the rhythm, oh my God. You talk about the rhythm, the loops. We love to dance, Africans.
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A
We.
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B
I mean, the energy. You saw it at the Experience. We can dance for nine hours, nine hours straight.
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A
I could only do three and I'm like, I gotta go to bed.
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B
We'll pick up our neighbor and just throw them up in the air like so. The race, the rhythms and the percussions are unique. And obviously now there's just. It's a fusion of everything now. You know, there's gospel, there's, you know, Afrobeat. Like you mentioned Afrobeat, which, you know, was popular or popularized by the legend fella, you know, he created this genre called Afrobeat and now it's just evolved into so many things. And then you have the CCM influence over the last couple of years, maybe a decade now with Hillsong, you know, Bethel and now elevation worship. So I feel like the African sound has just become a fusion of gospel elements, CCM elements in terms of the sonic sound right now, the guitars and the simplicity and the simple chords. But that's the thing in African music. You have two lanes in praise worship. So you have the slow sets will be your gospel infused, CCM infused and native African elements, worship songs, you know, you'll hear the similarities and then when you go to the fast songs, that is when the real gospel chops, the intros, if you hear some of the intros that our guys be coming up with the SMJs of the world, you hear the intros. It's pure gospel. Pure gospel. And the rhythm is pure African. You know, rhythm and Afrobeat or you know, local elements that. That's particular to different regions. So you have the east part of the eastern part of Nigeria, they have a very particular rhythm that they go by. And then the west and then the South. Same thing with the South African sound. You know, you hear the elements, you know, the South African sound is purely gospel harmonies and gospel, you know, rhythms and infused with that South African groaning, like you could tell. And the chants, you Use the word groaning.
- [31:33]
A
A deep passion. It's hard to describe. It's something that you have to experience. And like I said, I've been to Africa probably eight times, eight or nine times. And it is always a life changing experience whenever you get around people and they just start singing. And the thing I love is when the music breaks and everybody just starts singing a chorus. And the thing that really resonates with me is I, I see a lot of similarity between what's going on in that moment and what I grew up hearing as the Negro spirituals.
- [32:11]
B
Yes, yes, sir.
- [32:13]
A
They weren't seven stanzas and a super lyrical. It was a line, it was a chorus. And so to me it was a chant. So when I heard it the first time, I said, this is where. This is our roots, this is where this comes from. And a lot of people, you know, stateside, they don't understand or they say, well, why is gospel music so repetitive? You're saying this, you'll say the same thing over and over and over again. I have to say, well, you must understand the history. The history was when we came here, our language, our native language was stripped from us and we were taught a different language and they didn't. We weren't allowed to read.
- [32:56]
B
Yes.
- [32:56]
A
So all we could get is one line of something and we would sing it over because that's the only part of the language we could speak. So it was just swing low, squeak cherry, or coming forth to carry. That is the why behind it. And here we are, generations removed. But that is innate inside of us. And so to me, I thought it started with just, you know, the, you know, slavery and the slave chance until I went to Africa and I realized, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. This goes back before the transatlantic slave trade. This is a part of our history. Bro, talk to us about that.
- [33:31]
B
Listen, you said it all. I mean, it's a connection. I think the groanings come from pain. They come from oppression. You know, when you go to South Africa, you hear that sound. There's some power that you hear from it. There's a passion that cannot be explained. It has to be experienced. That also came from that oppression that they went through. But I feel like it's just a connection that is spiritual. It's spiritual. It's something that is inherent. You're born with it. It's just. Because you don't go to learn gospel, it's just in your bloodstream, it's in your blood, it's in everything. It's who you are. And I Feel like the connection, like you said, when it was exported and they couldn't express themselves, I believe that music was the only universal language they could speak. They could still sing their songs.
- [34:27]
A
Could not take my song.
- [34:29]
B
You know, I know Moses was a prophet, but he was also a worshiper. Because the Bible says he wrote a song when Pharaoh and his horses were drowned, the Bible says, and Moses sang a new song unto the Lord. He says, sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his riders have been thrown and cast into the sea. So I feel like, you know, whatever you learn. And I believe that the Ten Commandments were songs they were taught, you know, that's why the people remember that he taught songs. Yes. So you forget whatever has been preached, but you never forget a song.
- [35:05]
A
You're not going to forget a song.
- [35:07]
B
And music is the one thing that does not need permission to hit your spirit. It just hits you in the spirit. It does not need permission. It just hits you. That's why we tell people, be careful what you listen to, because it's spirit. Sound is spirit. You can't see the notes. You feel them. You can't see the harmonies, but you can feel them. I think that's the one thing they couldn't take away from the Africans when enslaved them in the chains. They were singing their songs. There was just something. It was a power that they passed down generations, generation. And now, years later, there's a reconnection to the South African sound, to the West African sound. There is just a similarity, you know, the sound is African. You know, what made Lion King one of the most successful Disney, you know, animations ever? It was the music. When you hear that, you know, it's this thing, you know, you cannot mistake that sound. And the power is in the sound, and it transfers in the passion and how we worship. People are radical. They are explosive. There's no limitation. We don't. We don't package it. It's just raw. It's authentic. And I feel like now that's why Afrobeat is so. Is taking over now, because it's contagious, it's happy, you know, And Africans are not. And the African sound is not happy because the people have everything. It's happy because they choose to be happy. It's a state of mind. They're like, you know what? We're oppressed, but we're going to sing. We're in poverty, but we gonna dance, you know, we gonna love God and we're gonna sing our hearts out. And there's something, you know, there's power in it. I tell people music is the one thing that it takes over. It doesn't matter where you are, you're in the mall, you hear a great beat, whether it's Christian or secular, your head is going to nod because music is spirit. It's the one thing that God created. God created music, and the devil did not create it. I'm here to announce to you that the devil did not create anything. He only perverts it. So going back to the roots, that African sound, which is gospel, which is. It's together, you know, go to South Africa, you hear the harmonies. You're like, oh, my God. This is gospel music. You know, what is gospel? It's the salvation. It's just about the salvation and the message of Christ just to spread love and hope and peace. And that's pretty much it. So that sound is authentic. It cannot be duplicated. It's just original. Like gospel music cannot be duplicated. African gospel music cannot be duplicated. It's just there's so much power in it, and you have to experience it, like you said to people who don't know. That's why you need to get exposure, Travel. Go to Africa.
- [37:47]
A
Come on.
- [37:47]
B
Learn your history. Learn, you know, listen to something that's not on your playlist. Explore. Check out different sounds from the continents, from different parts of the world, and experience what music is. So you're not limited by just your palette and what is available to you. And that's how you begin to appreciate God. One time, God told me I was flying and I saw the mountains over East Asia. I don't know where I was going. I'm like, God, this is beautiful. You are amazing. And he's like, yes, you have to go see the world so you can really worship me. How can you worship me without seeing the world? How can you worship me without seeing what I've created? How can you worship me without seeing the works of my hands? And just be in awe. See the wonders of the world and be like God. The Bible says only a fool says in his heart there's no God. You have to be foolish to say there's no God because God is around us. He's in us. He's everywhere. The sun has never not come out one day. The moon has never said, hey, I'm taking three days off. No, the Bible says he created everything and it was good. And that includes music. That includes our skin color, our sound, our originality. It's God given. And that's why it Resonates so well.
- [38:57]
A
Yeah, dude, do me a favor. Give us a starter pack. And what I mean by starter pack, I'm like, give me five songs from Africa or African writers that if I am. Let's say I'm. I'm here and I want to begin to introduce this sound to my church, whether it's cross cultural or whatever. Yeah, give me five songs that you would say, yo, start here.
- [39:19]
B
You put me on the spot.
- [39:20]
A
I. Well, give me three. Give me three if you got. No, you better say Waymakers one.
- [39:24]
B
I mean, Waymakers one. The Sinatra. If you listen to the Sinatra version, the. The raw original version, all the other versions are great. I love it. Don't get me wrong.
- [39:33]
A
Absolutely.
- [39:33]
B
You gotta go to where the original sauce. Right. So Waymaker is number one. Obviously. Now you would have to go also to Senate for the second one. I know who I am. Because that sound was global. I produced it, you know, it was. It was African, Afrobeat meets Caribbean sound. So it was, you know, because also Africans, we were influenced a lot by, you know, the Caribbean, you know, that influence, the reggae and the Bob Marley and that influence and all of that. You, you know, So I think I know who I am is definitely gonna be in there. I have to say that one of the songs that also went really, really global, man, I gotta go all the way back. I gotta go all the way back to some names that you guys might not know. But I'll keep it also relevant.
- [40:21]
A
This is beautiful because it's exposure, bro.
- [40:23]
B
It's exposure. Come on. It's exposure. I'll say. Come let's praise the Lord by panam M. Percy Paul, he's the OG without him, there's no modern African gospel music. Because he's the first. He's the guy that first brought the acoustic guitar to churches in Africa.
- [40:42]
A
Wow.
- [40:42]
B
And he would tell you the first time he went to a very traditional, probably Baptist or, you know, church, and it was just pipe organs. Obviously. It's just organs, right. He went in there with an acoustic guitar, closed his eyes, and he was singing Worship glory. He was singing the bring down your glory. Yeah. And he said midway through his song, eyes closed with his guitar, he felt himself gravitate, levitate. And then they opened the doors and threw him out of the church. And he was on the ground, broke his guitar.
- [41:19]
A
I promise you, I thought this story was going in a different direction.
- [41:22]
B
Like.
- [41:22]
A
Like, you know, the Holy spirit calls him to levitate, man. They talked about the church, picked him
- [41:26]
B
up and threw him out outside the church. Like you bring that devilish el, you know, Elvis music to this church. How dare you? How dare you bring that secular sound. He's one of the people that made gospel music, contemporary, you know, and, and guitars and, you know, started doing praise worship. So I would say, come, let's praise the Lord or the glory. It's two songs. He has anthems. But I'll say, bring down the glory or bring down your glory. And Come, let's Praise the Lord by Panam Percy Paul. Just check it, check it out. This was from back in the day. I'm talking about 80s and 90s. This is a legend. So that's four songs. I'm already good. Good to go, I have to say. There's a guy called Sonny Okoso. I don't even know if you can find his stuff. These are the guys who started early. There's Chris Okotier. Chris Okotier. O K O T I E I don't know if you can find it, but you can go on YouTube and find the stuff. And that's the OG I'm talking about the OG guys who started. And then obviously if you bring it to the last decade, two decades, then you're gonna start talking about people like Nathaniel Bassey. And for him, his first big song was IME la. You know, that's the first song that started everything for him. And you go to Dunson and you go to Fragrance the Fire. That's pretty much one. And then we go to traditional. You gotta go to like the indigenous stuff. Then you go to someone called Chioma Jesus. Chioma Jesus. C H I O M A Jesus. Check her out. Is that indigenous eastern high energy praise worship? You know, it's a 6, 8, but it's fast, so it's, It's like really, really wow. Yeah, you know, it's like, you know, we call it Arreara Arriera. Music is like real indigenous sound. So she's from the east, you have to. And then backing up to the east, the OGs of the east, we have Voice of the Cross. They were like a two part harmony group. They did all two part harmony and their songs were very, very repetitious. It was catchy. They were like the, I don't know, the Beatles of Africa at the time. They were just the two brothers who sang. I'm giving them shots. I'm Giving all the OGs props, you know, and because without them, none of, none of the African sound will be, will be out there. So check out Voice. Anything with Voice of the Cross. I have A joy. I have joy of salvation. And then obviously, we gotta go to South Africa. We gotta go to Ghana. You gotta listen to Danny Nettie. Danny Nete in Ghana. We used to call him the Fred Hammond of Africa. This dude had a voice and he sang. The closest person, the voice to Fred Hammond is Danny Nettie, Ghanaian legend. You hear Joe Metal today. He's. Everything Joe Metal is doing is inspired. He's actually singing BGVs for Danny Nettie, you know, so. So that's another OG. And obviously, you go to South Africa and you start talking about the indigenous. I mean, I could name. There's like 1 million South Africans that I could name. You have the Benjamin Dube. You have the. You have Mahalia doing a great job as well. And that's it, man. That's all that I can remember.
- [45:02]
A
You gave us a wealth.
- [45:03]
B
I know. I had to represent the whole continent, you know, Couldn't just go to the West. Got to go to the south and the East. Yeah. Okay.
- [45:12]
A
Well, listen, man, I have one more. Maybe two more questions. Yes. In five years.
- [45:17]
B
Yeah.
- [45:18]
A
Worship on the continent of Africa will be blank because of blank.
- [45:26]
B
In five years, worship in Africa will be dominating globally. Yeah. Because it's time. It's the season.
- [45:42]
A
I agree.
- [45:43]
B
It is the season. It's that sound. God used a lot of missionaries and, you know, the influence of America and different parts of the world to pour into Africa. For a long time when Africa was seen as third world, still Third World, but, you know, not in every sense of the word. There was a time I was seeing us, you know, helpless and hopeless. But God was using that season to cook Africa in authenticity, spirituality, and just straight up spirit worship. John 4:24. Time is coming. The time is now when worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth. And God is saying he's seeking for worshipers now. Worship him in spirit and in truth. I know some people will tell you, you that Africans love God because they need God. But I bet this, you know, half of that could be true. A lot of people just. They love God because they need him to supply and provide. But it transcends because we now have, you know, people who are millionaires on the continent, like, but they still love God. They fear God because they love him, you know, and with Africa, it was a time where it was all about fear God, fear God. But as people began to just grow in the Word, it became love God, Love God, because if you love him, you fear him. If you love him, you honor him. So I feel like that season where, you know, it's time for dominance. God took that time to cook Africa, create sounds. I mean, I think Israel went and tapped into that. Like, he was futuristic. Y' all just went there and tapped into it 20 years before it happened. When you. When you went and recorded Alpha and Omega, Alpha Omega, listen, that was.
- [47:32]
A
I'll never forget where I was when I. It's just.
- [47:35]
B
Yeah, till today. Doesn't matter where you are. You live that song, it's over. It's. It's. It's a rap. So I think that that was just Israel tapping into something futuristic. But now I feel like it's gonna dominate. Not because, oh, Africa is. No, it's because. Because it's a shift. And if you study God, every dispensation there is a shift. There is where he moves and he works from, operates from. If he can find people whose hearts are pure, he'll work through it. And there's a sincerity. There's just a hunger for God at a different level. And someone told me this. How filled you are depends on how hungry you are of God. You know, if you go to a buffet full, you're not eating anything. But if you go to a buffet really hungry, you could eat a whole lot, lot. So, you know, your capacity for God determines how much he pours into you. And I feel like Africa has been waiting and now there's just worshippers popping from left, right, center who are writing songs that God wants the world to sing. So. And the resources are available. Multitrax.
- [48:44]
A
And the resources are available. Yes. Yeah.
- [48:46]
B
And Multitrax is going to make it. Make it even and happen sooner. Sooner. Wow.
- [48:53]
A
Wow. Well, D, bro, I want to just thank you for your time, man. Where can leaders find Multitracks Africa? Tell us what's the best first click after this episode, you'll be like, okay, I want to know more.
- [49:04]
B
Yes, you can find us on social media, Instagram, Multitracks, Africa. You can go to our website where you can get all the resources. Multitracks Africa.com you can get playback. You can get multitrack one, which has all our ecosystem. You can get rehearsal, mix, chart builder. We have so many resources, so just go to multitracksafrica.com, go to social media. You can find us multitracksafrica.com on all our social media handles. And very soon, coming to a church near you in Africa, Multitracks will be there helping you lead worship, serving the worship leader, serving the church and enhancing and, you know, elevating the way you worship sounds good bro.
- [49:51]
A
D, thank you so much again for your time, for your wisdom, just for your yes and saying yes. Lord God, I want to be a part of what you're doing in the earth partnering with Multitracks to help us take this beautiful, beautiful, this amazing culture and music and be able to share it with the world. So we're excited about what you are doing building that brand. We're looking forward to just more amazing things. He talked about some of the incredible artists. Yes, guys, if you don't know these artists, go take a listen to go to YouTube and you'll see their. The views are like in the millions. I'm not in the thousands. Not in the hundreds, but not in the hundreds of thousands, but in the millions.
- [50:31]
B
Millions. In the millions.
- [50:33]
A
In the millions. And so we are excited about, excited about the partnership and looking forward to what God is going to do through Multitracks Africa. Yes, guys, thank you so much, so much for your time. Thanks for joining us on the Lead Worship World podcast. Until next time, God bless and we'll talk soon.
- [50:49]
B
God bless. Bye.