Singer Bahati Still Insist On Being Referred To As A Gospel Artist
Musician Kevin “Bahati” Kioko has refuted claims that he is a secular artist and instead describes himself as a gospel musician who does not wish to make money off of gospel music.
Bahati claimed during an interview with Mambo Mseto on Radio Citizen that he uses gospel singing to communicate with God. Because he is not vulgar, he claimed he would not identify as a secular artist.
“I think for me I can still call myself a gospel artist but I sing gospel when I want to express myself to God, I don’t want to do gospel music as a business,” he said.
He added that he sings love songs because he wants them to be entertaining, arguing that people in churches also needed songs to pass time.
“So I just do good love songs also because you know even in our weddings in church we need entertaining music. I cannot call myself a secular artist because secular is not me, I’m not vulgar, I’m not,” he said.
Bahati, however, emphasised that despite his ‘departure’ from gospel music, his relationship with God had not changed and that he had vowed to God that he would not abandon him.
“I promised God that I will never leave him, and he knows. I have never left God, you know everything I have is from God,” he said.
He continued by describing his 2016 appearance for the Jubilee Party as his biggest professional achievement.
The singer of the hit song “Mama” then proceeded to sit on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s chair in the now-famous performance, eliciting conflicting emotions from Kenyans.
“The day I sat on the president’s seat when I sang for him in Kasarani, that was one of my biggest breakthroughs but guess it was one of the days I got into hot soup, you understand, there are people who thought I was brave because that was history but there are people who said it was indiscipline,” he said.