Preachers (musical group)

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Preachers
Preachersmusicmusic.jpg
Preachers performing at TV3's Music Music, June 19, 2015. L to R: Emani Beats, Obed Psych, Edmund Baidoo
Background information
Origin Ghana, West Africa
Genres Rap, Hip hop, Afro pop
Years active2009–present
LabelsBibles Up Records
Members Obed Psych
Emani Beats
Edmund Baidoo
Past members Dennis Enim
Michelle Majid-Michel
Website www.preachersgh.com

"Preachers" is a Ghanaian gospel group. The group is made up of three members, Obed Psych, Emani Beats and Edmund Baidoo. Since 2009, as pacesetters of the urban gospel movement in Ghana, [1] they have toured locally and internationally to preach the word of God through their music. Preachers are notable pioneers of urban gospel/hiphop genre in Ghana and continue to set the pace for the new generation of gospel music. [2]

Contents

History

Group formation

Preachers started as a group of five namely Michelle Majid-Michel, Dennis Enim (lead singer at the time), Obed Awelinga-Nzuh(also known as Obed Psych, now lead singer of the group), Edmund Baidoo and Emmanuel Awuni (also known as Emani Beats). They came together as a group in 2009 to form a gospel rap group which they together named PREACHERS. [3] The name Preachers was derived from the bible verse Mark 16:15 which says "Go ye into the world and Preach the gospel to all creation". They recorded their first mixtape "Very Special" in 2010 with almost all songs produced by record producer and multi-instrumentalist KODA.

Debut album and breakthrough

Not long in time, Michelle opted out of the group to focus on her education. The remaining four Dennis, Obed Psych, Emani Beats and Edmund continued to work together as a team and blew up with their debut album "Mark 16:15" [4] in 2012. This led to their breakthrough in the music industry as their hit song Go Hard topped local charts, won them the Discovery of the Year award at the 2012 Ghana Gospel Music Awards [5] and Most Wanted Rap Song at the 2013 Christian Community Music Awards. [6] Go Hard's music video [7] also featured on top Christian Hip Hop online magazine Rapzilla. [8]

In 2013, Dennis silently left the group and Preachers released a music video for their song "E Dey Love Me" [9] which brought controversies from the cost and concept of the video to the mysterious absence of Dennis in the video. [10] Preachers have since not officially said a word about his absence. However, Preachers describe themselves today as the interminable trio which concludes that the group is now a trio.

The trio however did not stop there. They continued to grow from strength to strength winning many more local and international awards such as Afro Rap Artist(s) of the Year at the Africa Gospel Music Awards in the United Kingdom. They performed on bigger platforms and put together a formidable group called team bibles up which consists of "die-hard" fans of Preachers. Their Go Hard Tour [11] grew into the Bibles Up Tour [12] which covered more schools and made more impact than ever. They succeeded in winning the hearts of the youth and were always on major youth events.

Bibles Up Foundation

In 2014, Preachers launched their foundation called the Bibles Up Foundation, which was launched alongside their second album "The Fearless Project" [13]

The Fearless Project

In August 2014, The Fearless Project, [13] which has been the greatest album of Preachers so far was launched at Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra. The Album title is based on the bible verse 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of sound mind". The album has been described as a multiple hit album because it won them several local and international awards and nominations. Their song No Juju won "Most Wanted Rap Song of the year at the Christian Community Music Awards 2014" [14] and "Most Popular Song at the Jamming Jesus Festival and Honors 2015", [15] The video for their song "Meyi W'aye" which featured Noble Nketsiah also won "Best International Music Video" at the Gospel Music Awards Italy 2014 and "Video of the Year" at the Jamming Jesus Festival and Honors 2015 [15]

International tour

In May 2016, Preachers performed to a multitude in Pretoria, South Africa at the Conquerors Through Christ Ministries auditorium as part of their Bibles Up International Tour. [16] In December 2015, [17] the trio performed at Kenya's popular "Totally Sold Out Concert" at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi and organized a conference dubbed "Ghana Meets Kenya Summit" [18] at the Nairobi Cinema.

Albums, mixtapes and singles

Music videos

Awards

YearAwardCategoryOutcome
2019Africa Gospel AwardsRap Hip Hop Artiste Of The YearNominated [29]
Rap Hip Hop Song Of The YearNominated
Afropop Song Of The YearNominated
Group Of The YearNominated
Ghana Urban Gospel Music AwardsArtist of the YearNominated
UG Song of the YearNominated
Album of the Year (Level Up)Nominated
Group of the YearNominated
Music Video of the YearWon
2018Shine AwardsGroup of the YearNominated [30]
Africa Gospel Music & Media AwardsAfro Rap Artist(s) of the YearNominated [31]
2017 Groove Awards Western Africa Artist of the YearNominated [32]
Africa Gospel Music & Media AwardsAfro Rap Artist of ExcellenceNominated [33]
2016Ghana Music Awards UKGospel Artist of the YearNominated [34]
Groove Awards Western Africa Artist of the YearNominated [35]
Christian Community Music AwardsMost Wanted Rap SongWon [36]
Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Gospel Artist(s) of the YearNominated [37]
Best Group of the YearNominated [37]
Music Video of the Year (Crazy)Nominated [37]
2015MTN 4Syte TV Music Video Awards Gospel Video of the YearNominated [38]
Jamming Jesus Festival and HonorsAlbum of the Year (The Fearless Project)Won [15]
Most Popular Song of the Year (No Juju)Won [15]
Most Influential ArtistNominated [15]
Music Video of the Year (Meyi W'aye)Won [15]
Collaboration of the Year(Meyi W'aye)Nominated [15]
2014Gospel Music Awards ItalyInternational Music Video of The Year (E Dey Love Me)Won [39]
International Group of the YearWon [39]
International Song of the Year (No Juju)Nominated [39]
International Gospel HipHop/Rap of the YearNominated [39]
Christian Community Music AwardsMost Wanted Rap Song of the YearWon [14]
Africa Gospel Music AwardsBest Video (E Dey Love Me)Nominated [40]
Africa Gospel Music AwardsAfro Rap Artist(s) of the YearWon [41]
Group of the YearNominated [42]
Video of the Year (My Days)Nominated [42]
2013Christian Community Music AwardsMost Wanted Rap Song of the Year (Go Hard)Won [6]
Black Entertainment, Fashion, Film and Television AwardsInternational Artist of the YearNominated [43]
2012Ghana Gospel Music AwardsDiscovery of the YearWon [5]
Africa Gospel Music AwardsAfro Rap Artist(s) of the YearNominated [44]

Concerts and tours

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References

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  2. ↑ "Preachers, Ghana's urban gospel music 'Generals'". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
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