Gaise Baba Urges The Headies To Rethink Treatment Of Faith-Based Music

By Boluwatife Kehinde-Idowu

Gospel and Afrofusion artiste Gaise Baba has written an open letter to The Headies, calling for a broader approach to the recognition of faith-based music and its place within Nigeria’s mainstream music industry.

The singer made his position known in an open letter shared on his Instagram account, @gaisebaba, on Friday, following the unveiling of nominees for the 18th Headies Awards.

In the letter addressed to The Headies, Gaise Baba recalled attending the awards for the first time on October 20, 2012, shortly after he had been signed to Sanctified Records. He also noted that he had performed at the nominees’ party and had been active in the Nigerian music industry for more than a decade.

Gaise said his experience across different parts of the music industry had given him enough perspective to raise concerns about how faith-based artistes and their music are considered during award nominations.

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He acknowledged the criticism The Headies has received from artistes and fans in recent years, but described the awards as one of Nigeria’s biggest and most recognised music ceremonies.

According to him, his letter was not intended as a complaint from outside the industry but as a push for the organisers to improve the institution.

“This letter is not a complaint from the outside. It is a push from someone within, who wants to see the institution function better.”

The artiste said his faith has never prevented him from engaging with the wider music industry, arguing that his Christian identity should not restrict the type of music he makes or the platforms on which it is considered.

He explained that he has worked across different areas of the industry and has performed alongside artistes from different backgrounds, adding that this experience has influenced his position on faith-based music.

A major point in the letter was his argument that the subject matter of a rap song should not determine whether the song is recognised as rap.

Gaise Baba wrote:

“A rap record is a rap record. It does not stop being rap because of what the artiste chose to rap about.”

He argued that rap songs should be judged according to the musical form and craft rather than being removed from rap categories simply because their lyrics contain religious or inspirational themes.

The singer further argued that a rap song about money, fame, sex, debauchery, faith or other subjects remains a rap record because of its musical characteristics, including its delivery and flow.

He also questioned the practice of placing songs with gospel content exclusively in “gospel” or “inspirational” categories while preventing them from competing in broader genre categories.

According to Gaise, “If we’re appreciating and honouring music for music, then let’s do that for what it is, before filtering by what it is about.”

The letter comes days after The Headies released the nominees for its 18th edition, which is scheduled to be held in Toronto, Canada, on October 25, 2026, under the theme “Africa to the World.”

Gaise Baba and Lawrence Oyor are nominated in the Best Inspirational Single category for their song “No Turning Back II”, alongside works by Sunmisola Agbebi and Yinka Okeleye, Lawrence Oyor, Sinach, EmmaOMG and Mercy Chinwo.