The gospel industry has grown in leaps and bounds according to Mercy Masika.
But this has not always been the case for her when she entered the industry.
Money or lack of it from the industry was quite discouraging to her.
She has been down and one time thought of giving up, she hinted in a studio interview with tv47 on Sifa Sunday Plus,
“You know when you taste and see that the Lord has been good you have that option. So if you have not tasted it properly perhaps you have that option. I have never had that option. The only option I’ve had is not to do public music.
There are times I would go 5 years without a song. Why? Because I’m feeling let me just serve in Church. Let me sing in the worship team, that’s enough. Who said I should record? “
She had been weighing whether God had called her to the ministry early in her career.
“That has always been the only option in my ministry, In my thinking perhaps I should stop public and go more into church.”
Does Gospel music pay?
“Oh, it does. I’ve got good money. And I get good money every month. Apart from things like Skiza, I think I’m one of the best paid but for a while, there was no return on investment when I said I thought I should give up on music publicly because you put in so much on the videos so much of time traveling, unaenda mahali unapewa elfu mbili and you are thinking hiyo hata si mafuta.”
She added that at the time people didn’t value Gospel music. She said it was the norm for musicians to be paid sh1,000.But that habit has changed and now they are raking in money.
“At the beginning it was hard, but God has a way of encouraging you especially if you are within his will to keep going” she opened up.
Adding
“Before something shikas they don’t value it. God has encouraged me even at times when I didn’t have money. Now I can’t complain. I see what people get paid in other sectors and I’m like wow it’s beautiful what God has done through music. It pays. Gospel music pays. You don’t have to go and strip and do bad manners to get.. you can be decent with your long clothes and praise God. and still make your millions monthly” she assured.
The Mwema hitmaker is a clothes designer which she is passionate about.She took issue with the current crop of artists dressing indecently.
“I’m passionate about people wearing decently and still being fashionable. You don’t have to show skin in this new fashion nowadays. I should release the song ‘Vaeni nguo’. ” Laughing about it she added “Vaeni nguo wacheni kuonyesha tumbo, there is nakedness in the culture but you can be decent and I think we should carry ourselves as Queens. How you dress is how you are going to be addressed.”
