Celestine Donkor in an interview on GhanaWebTV’s Talkertainment
• Celestine Donkor says she’ll continue to work with secular musicians
• She is unfazed by criticisms against her for collaborating with secular musicians
• She says suggestion gospel musicians shouldn’t collaborate with secular counterparts is primitive
Award-winning gospel singer Celestine Donkor has established that although she was widely criticized for featuring secular acts on her ‘Thank You’ song, she will not in any way be deterred from working with them if need be.
Sometime in December 2020, Celestine Donkor gave an opportunity to the likes of Akwaboa and Efya to deliver some verses on that particular song, a situation that drew tons of criticisms from a section of the public.
Some members of the Christian fraternity, particularly gospel musicians, condemned the idea, adding that a gospel artiste of her calibre should not be ‘equally yoked with unbelievers’.
But recounting her experience and lessons drawn from the incident, Celestine in an interview with GhanaWeb’s Talkkertainment host, Elsie Lamar said;
“I’ve learnt my lessons. Every experience has added to the next thing I’m going to do but definitely, it’s not going to be backing down. It has to be big and better. There is a plan, direction and a focus. That is what I look at. At a point in time, if there is the need to bring in secular artistes to achieve what we want to achieve, we’ll go for it. What I did with Afia and Akwaboa was a project and it was the same with Edem. In the case of Edem, we did a tribute song for the late Komla Dumor. Afia and Akwaboa also featured on my thanksgiving song. There was a need for it and my team thought that it was necessary.”
“The criticisms which poured out when I featured these circular artistes revealed to me that the gospel has still not been heard. The true gospel is not being preached. In our 21st century, if some of these things come up, then there must be a cause of alarm. It resonates with the fact that the gospel is not being heard and properly preached. There shouldn’t be discrimination among human beings. Everybody deserves a chance to partake in the kingdom. Remember that the bible said we should go ye into the world and now we are rather building a barrier,” she added.
According to her, some of the comments she received following her feature with the secular acts defeat the purpose of the gospel.
Watch the video below from 6:28 onwards