'One of the biggest things about it is the fact that gospel songs give hope.'

On Monday afternoon, Muyiwa and Riversongz will sing the five most popular Gospel songs of all time – as voted for by Surefish users – from the Greenbelt Arena, in Surefish’s Big Great Gospel Song Sing. George Luke spoke to the popular Nigerian-born worship leader and radio broadcaster.

You’re at Greenbelt to sing the gospel songs that Surefish readers have voted the most popular of all time. What is it about Gospel music that strikes such a chord with people? And what does it mean to you personally?

There are so many things that make Gospel music special. But I think one of the biggest things about it is the fact that gospel songs give hope, and it doesn’t matter what colour or religion you are the message is still the same.

To me it the way we are able to communicate not only our love for God, but also express what we've been through what we are experiencing and what we believe the future holds for us. A Japanese proverb say: “Without oars, you cannot cross in a boat.” Our belief is the boat; gospel music is the oars.

Who are the other people who make up Riversongz, and how did you find them?

Riversongz is made up of a massive array of people who are all artists in their own right. There are worship leaders, solo artists, Jazz greats like Femitone (guitarist Femi Temowo – formerly Amy Winehouse’s music director).

They’ve all come as a result of relationships. Maria Martin arranges all the vocals; I’ve known since she was a baby. The only thing I can say about how we all meet is: Relationships, relationships, relationships.

How did you get started in music?

That goes back to my childhood in Nigeria. There was a lot of music in our house. My sisters and I would sing about different things. Well, my sisters would sing – and because they were grown-ups and were cool, and I was the young one trying to be cool, I’d join them.

They made up songs about everything – the weather, food... all those things. That was really where it started, and then coming to the UK and being thrown into the culture of pop music proper had a huge effect on my life: Kate Bush, Bob Marley…these were people I was aware of before, but there’s a link between your geography and your experience of a culture that comes from a place, as opposed to you experiencing it remotely.

Being in the UK was a great experience for me – but it was also a traumatic time. Great in that I was exposed to a great deal of things; traumatic in that I wasn’t ready for much of it. I was living with an uncle who then kicked me out of his house when I was nine or ten.

I studied music in college. Actually, I did Business Studies first. Like many other African kids, you want to do something artistic but you’re told you have to do something professional. So even though my mum was a radio broadcaster and a singer herself, she insisted that I do Business Studies. I did it and hated it – though it’s come in useful now, I have to say!

When I finished studying music, I worked in TV for a while – on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast. Then I Sony Music asked if I’d consider working for them. I worked in Columbia’s International department, looking after artists such as Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, and Lauryn Hill.

Looking back, the experience has come in handy for what I’m doing now. But while I was there, I felt that I was just biding my time, doing something before I started recording my pop records – which I did for a while; I had a deal with Warners in Germany, and made a record that wasn’t successful [laughs]. But both the experiences of working in a record company and in broadcasting have come in handy with what I do now.

You recently launched a charity of your own. What do you aim to achieve with it?

Basically, the context for it is that growing up, I can’t recall my parents ever having birthday parties for us. But one thing they did do which made a huge impression on me was that at a certain time of the year, they’d throw a massive party for underprivileged kids in our area.

That was something that’s stayed with me. I’ve always said that I wanted to do something for poor and underprivileged children – starting in Africa, because that’s where I hail from. Part of the idea is to put some money into the education of some kids, starting with one kid.

Do you feel there’s much of a link between this sort of social action and being a worship leader?

There’s a huge relationship between the two. I run a course on worship, and one of the things I point out to the guys I teach is that worship is not complete with just the singing and dancing – and of course, we have this saying we’ve been quoting for years: “worship is a lifestyle.”

So it’s like, what the heck does that mean? When you look in the book of Hebrews, it talks about the fruit of your lips giving thanks. It talks about worship. But then, it says ‘do good to all men’ and then it says ‘obey your leaders.’ So in this one discussion about worship, it talks about social justice, and about being kind to your neighbours.

So for me, theologically, the Bible makes it clear. It’s not just worship in spirit and truth; it’s also ‘do good to others.’ You see examples of it again and again and again. So for me, there’s a clear line between what God says in worship, and how that impacts on our communities and the world around us.

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