'Be rooted in Christ first' - Sicelo Moya talks gospel music & profit

Gospel music is one of the most lucrative music genres in Mzansi and Sicelo Moya has explained the importance of remembering the main purpose of his music as a gospel artist in the face of profit.

Sicelo told TshisaLIVE that while all music has an impact on people's lives, gospel music in particular deals with people's "spirits and souls," and should never just be about profit for the artists.

"The truth is the gospel music genre is a very lucrative market, especially in South Africa. So foundation becomes extremely important. If God is first, everything else is a by-product of his presence and the money is secondary. Although this concept should be for everyone, it is extremely important for gospel music singers. It should always begin with God for us. Be rooted in Christ first."

The 2013 Crown Gospel award winner for Best Worship Song said learning to strike a balance between making trending music and message-filled music was important. He won the award for his debut album Bread of Life.

The musician recently dropped his latest album, Solid Rock, which is produced by Nqubeko Mbatha.  He's also worked with gospel giant Benjamin Dube and considers it one of the highlights in his career.

Sicelo said part of understanding the kind of genre you are in, is to understand the subject of your songs.

"I grew up as a Christian but the more I understood what it meant to be a Christian (that it is about one's relationship with God the father)  the more I knew it was the right genre for me."

Sicelo's father taught him how to play piano at a very young age and the first born of eight children explained that his whole family is musically inclined.

His younger brother is a popular Afro-soul singer called Afro-traction and his sister Simphiwe Ngoma, a gospel singer, also recently dropped new music.

The musician plans to release his live DVD early next year.