Gospel artiste Gaise Baba has challenged The Headies organisers over what he described as the marginalisation of faith-based music in mainstream award categories, arguing that gospel songs should be assessed alongside other genres based on their musical quality, creativity and cultural impact.
The singer made the demand in an open letter dated August 28, 2026, ahead of the 18th Headies scheduled to be held on October 25 in Toronto, Canada.
Gaise Baba, who identifies as a leading voice in Afrogospel, said his more than 15 years of experience in the Nigerian music industry gave him a basis to question the direction of the awards.
He maintained that being a faith-based artiste should not limit the spaces in which an artiste can participate or the categories in which their work can compete.
“As a faith-based artiste, or gospel as it is more commonly called, I have always had an outlook of not being limited in expression or restricted to only religious gatherings,” he said, stressing that faith-based musicians should be able to engage fully with the wider music industry.
The singer argued that music should primarily be categorised according to its craft rather than the subject matter of its lyrics. Using rap as an example, he said a rap song does not cease to be rap because it addresses faith instead of conventional themes such as money, fame or sex.
“A rap record is a rap record. It does not stop being rap because of what the artiste chose to rap about,” Gaise Baba said.
He added that songwriting, cadence, delivery, flow, and other elements of musical craft determine how a record should be classified.
He argued that placing a song with faith-based content exclusively in gospel or inspirational categories could prevent it from receiving recognition in broader conversations where its artistic merits should also be considered.
“A rap song with gospel content, considered only within ‘gospel’ or ‘inspirational’ categories and never as ‘rap’, is being quietly removed from a conversation it has every right to be part of,” he stated.
Gaise Baba also raised concerns over the treatment of the Inspirational category at the previous edition of The Headies. He acknowledged that the category, introduced in 2022, was a positive development but said he was disappointed that it was not presented on stage at the last ceremony.
The artiste said his team attended all pre-award activities after he was nominated in the category alongside Tope Alabi, Anendlessocean, Mercy Chinwo, Dunsin Oyekan, and Limoblaze.
However, the category was reportedly not called during the ceremony, which he said lasted more than five hours.
He noted that the Inspirational category was not the only one omitted from the stage presentation, but argued that every category announced by the organisers should receive recognition during the ceremony.
Gaise Baba further questioned what he described as a disparity in how songs are judged, particularly when records addressing sexual themes can compete broadly for artistic recognition while faith-based songs are restricted to inspirational categories.
He also pointed to the cultural reach of songs such as “Favour” and “No Turning Back II”, asking whether other records released during the period under review had achieved greater cultural impact across Nigeria and beyond.
For the 2026 edition, Gaise Baba and Lawrence Oyor’s “No Turning Back 2” is nominated for Best Inspirational Single, alongside works by Sunmisola Agbebi, Lawrence Oyor, Sinach, EmmaOMG, and Mercy Chinwo.
