Afrobeats singer and songwriter Johnny Drille, has opened up about his musical journey and how he struggled to find his place in the church community despite starting out there.
Speaking during a recent podcast appearance, the singer revealed that although he once served as a music director in church, he never truly felt his style of music belonged there.
“I didn’t feel like my music was predominantly in church. Every now and then, I get invited to churches to sing, which is kind of interesting,” he said.
Johnny Drille also admitted that his transition from gospel to mainstream music came with backlash from some members of the Christian community.
“I’ve gotten a bit of backlash from my Christian community every now and then when they invite me to churches. But at the end of the day, the music is positive. It speaks to good things that sometimes the church doesn’t want to talk about,” he explained.
He went on to criticise how churches often shy away from expressing love through music.
“The church shies away from talking about love. A lot of times you go for some Christian weddings and you hear Davido and Wizkid. What if the church decides that we want to start doing our own Christian love songs?” he said.
Reflecting on his early days, Johnny Drille said his time as a choir director helped shape his skills as a musician, even though he didn’t perform much at the time.
“There’s a place for worship music, right? But there’s also music about so much more that the church could be singing about. I was a music director, directing the choir, but I never really sang in front of the church. I think it helped me become the musician I am today in terms of my musicianship and performances,” he added.