Gospel Stars Shine Beyond Borders

Namibian gospel music has been on an upward trajectory and the recent performance by Lady Dyna in Botswana as well as Maanda Gabriel’s award victory in South Africa are clear testament to that.

The gospel stars made Namibia proud as they both stepped onto the southern African gospel scene to show what Namibia has to offer – impressing both fans and industry heavyweights in the two respective countries.

Gabriel reached gospel glory as she was awarded best artist of the year at the Mpumakoloni International Gospel Music Awards (MKIGMA) that took place in Pretoria, while Lady Dyna performed at the inaugural Botswana Gospel Music Awards.

Speaking to The Weekender recently, Gabriel could hardly contain her excitement as she relayed what the award meant to her. She spoke passionately about how greatful she is to have a talent that allows her to spread the word of God. “I was really overwhelmed and overjoyed when I found out that I was nominated at the awards. I had entered for two categories and didn’t even expect to end up winning the artist of the year award,” she said.

Like many gospel musicians, Gabriel uses her talent to minister the word of God. “God installed a gift in my life that allows me to minister the gospel through my music. I thank God every time for the opportunity to be able to do this,” she said.

Secretary general of the Namibian Gospel Music Association (NGMA) Ndilimeke Nambinga also expressed the organisation’s joy at having two musicians from their association making such great strides. “It is a dream come true for the association as it has been our vision to create platforms for Namibian gospel artists to go on to international platforms to showcase their music and talents to the world.”

Lady Dyna told The Weekender during a recent interview that the awards in Botswana opened her eyes to a whole new world of what is available to gospel musicians in Africa. “There were also artists from Swaziland and South Africa and it was an amazing experience. The unity of the artists there was impressive. The president of the Botswana gospel association is one of the biggest gospel artists there but she sacrificed her time to do this work for the industry and I found that quite inspiring,” she noted.

Lady Dyna made good connections during her trip and, in fact, some of the musicians she met at the awards have also shown interest in attending the upcoming Ngoma Awards in Namibia. She has since gotten back to her philantrophic work through her campaign that aims to provide marginalised girls with sanitary pads. She’s passionate about the cause and appeals to the public to assist her in any way possible.

“For a long time, sanitary pads and menstruation, to be specific, were taboos in society, but we want to re-enforce the message that having access to sanitary pads is a right,” she said. She’s also hard at work promoting her latest single, ‘I Love My Jesus’, which she said is a dedication to the love and relationship she has with Christ. “I have really seen the glory of God and He has given me so many opportunities. I’m working with artists from outside Namibia on my upcoming album and I’m forever grateful,” she said.

With the Ngoma awards fast approaching, the gospel music scene is ready for a revival, said Nambinga. “With these achievements, I can say it is only the beginning of greater things to come, not only for gospel singers, but for Namibian musicians at large.”

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