For a new generation of Pentecostal Christians, yesterday at The Experience presented Tope Alabi as the Yoruba answer to the Chioma Jesus we love.

And the question is not a competition, the question is a well-rounded worship experience with the different flavours that come with language, message, and effect.

Of course, Tope Alabi arrived on the mainstream many years ago before Chioma Jesus. But her return to that center stage yesterday brought some kind of delicious balance to the Nigerian worship universe – one that we want to believe will be repeated over and over again in the coming months.

And there are at least 5 reasons why:

1. Chioma is as brilliant with worshipping God in pure, unadulterated Igbo – from music to chant – as Tope Alabi is with Yoruba. Oh, what an utter beauty.

2. The way they command the stage, with the confidence of an orchestra’s conductor who has dealt with audiences almost all of her life.

3. They are one with the audience: even those who don’t know the lyrics completely enraptured in a unique and extended moment of bliss. When they worship, you can’t possibly be anywhere else but in the moment, but in the Spirit.

4. Have you noticed how they don’t need to jump up and jump down and twist and turn and bend to grab your attention? It’s the easy dignity with which they stand in one spot and seize your heart that stands them out. And it’s a delight to watch.

5. They have massive fans across large swaths of the country, and even more beautifully their fans are from vastly different cultures from theirs – but for Chioma (Amaka Okwuoha) and for Tope, language has never been a barrier to conquering the hearts and souls of God’s children.

Ah, what a priviledge. And a gift.

Tolu

Your pop culture/entertainment go-to. Music head. Wallflower. I do not like to write. On a mission to decipher covfefe.