Across this writer’s weekly deep dives into Nigeria’s African Christian praise terrain, one release stood out across the diaspora scene: UK-Minister Adeoluwa’s “The Names of God.” A gingerly highlife-esque chord progression opens the song’s linear melodic section: “Jehovah Jireh, my provider / Jehovah Nissi, you are my banner,” Adeoluwa’s baritone boomed underneath subtle guitar riffs.
Across the six-minute-long African Christian Praise spin, Adeoluwa unlocks a riveting composition that swells with a linear melodic section that surprisingly keeps the song vibrant despite the monotone. Thanks to Adeoluwa’s charismatic pacing, it flourishes with strong tonal balance and a neat counterpoint between the lead singer and backing vocals, enhancing the song’s enjoyability. “I would worship your name, almighty Father!” Adeoluwa’s vocals hover above theirs in tender unison before breaking into a spoken word interlude.
The song deeply reflects on God’s grandeur, with Adeoluwa’s code-switching lyricism reeling out a litany of God’s titles and names. The song exudes a solemn feel, vividly heightened by Adeoluwa’s sombre delivery. While he often slips into energetic melismas and crescendos, he maintains this overall tempered cadence that fills the record with thriving emotional duality. With his lyrical and thematic depth, as well as delivery, he engineers the song’s catharsis to shine as a profoundly introspective, gratitude-soaked, and relaxingly euphoric groove.
“In his presence, there is fullness of joy!” he booms, as he races towards the outro with a rousing aria in the song’s last melodic section. He infuses scat singing, refrains, and a rousing spoken word call-and-response towards the outro. It unfurls with a strong, dramatic tension-and-release that also bolsters its catharsis, presenting the record as an aspirational and dancey jive.
His other records released earlier this year, “Mary’s Praise” and “It Is Written In His Word,” brim with a similar cinematic tension, highlighting his auteurial direction, which is lush with spirited cadences, melodramatic pacing, and diverse (linear and complex) compositions. On “Mary’s Praise,” the rousing call-and-response chorus enlivens the entire soundpiece, as subtle percussion blends the harmonic phrases into a suspenseful groove. On “It Is Written In His Word,” he exploits this call-and-response, supported with guest vocals from his Ghanaian counterpart Apostle Bernard Antwi, plucking the chordophonic progression apart into a spirit-lifting compass for finding one’s faith in God.
With “The Names of God,” Minister Adeoluwa stretches his discography with yet another exciting spin that embodies the beauty of indigenous instrumentation in African Christian Praise fusions. The entire song rings as a heartfelt mesh of South-Eastern and South-Western Nigerian Christian praise traditions. It’s partly why his catalogue swells with nostalgia, especially in this age of Western influences within Nigerian musicdom. While leaning towards Igbo highlife/folk, the song infuses bits of Yoruba salutations that are cleverly intonated to tweak the song’s harmonic signature and balance. Another Christian praise musician who shares this approach is Nathaniel Oyor, especially with songs like “Dancing Around Medley” and “Hallelujah Live,” among others.
Save for the song’s flattened outro, dropping with a crescending instrumentation that fails to deliver a lingering punch, the entire song spins as a heartfelt groove. Its careful composition, tonal balance, lyricism, and clever transitions among melodic sections ramp up its enjoyability and shock value. Poised with strong playback value, “The Names of God” ranks as one of Adeoluwa’s most riveting releases in recent times and is a strong marker of a glaring retrospective shift across contemporary African Christian Praise traditions.
Minister Adeoluwa is a Nigerian-born musician and praise minister popular for his scriptural, spoken-word-filled lyricism. With a powerful voice and a deep heart for worship, he blends biblical declarations with soulful gospel melodies to uplift hearts and inspire faith. His unique “Scripture-singing” style distinguishes his musical vision, which he claims aims at awakening human consciousness and promoting Christian spirituality. Beyond his musical calling, Min. Adeoluwa also serves as a youth leader and mentor, training young people in music, stage discipline, and spiritual development. Through every platform, performance, and project, his mission remains clear: to glorify God, proclaim His Word, and ignite faith in the hearts of listeners across generations.
