Gospel singer and pastor of The Chosen Vessel church in Fort Worth, Texas, Marvin Sapp, has weighed in after Norman Gyamfi, the CEO of Insignia Assets, which owns Tribl Records and contemporary Christian worship music collective Maverick City Music, invoked Sapp’s popular “Never Would Have Made It” song in a controversial critique of the music genre.
Speaking on a recent episode of “The Isaac Carree Show,” a podcast hosted by gospel singer Isaac Caree, Gyamfi appeared dismissive of some of the traditional expressions of gospel, calling it “over singing.”
Citing the success of Maverick City, which has several No. 1 albums on Billboard and won five Grammy Awards, Gyamfi suggested that gospel needs to evolve in a way that better connects with today’s generation of black Christian youth whose struggles are different from those of their forebears.
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“The Gospel norms wasn’t working [any] more, y’all sing too hard, y’all over sing,” Gyamfi, the brother-in-law of gospel singer and pastor Travis Greene, said. “Stop doing that, nobody wants to hear runs, people keep saying we want choir music, but choir music would’ve never died if people wanted to listen to it.”
With Maverick City, Gyamfi said he saw a “perfect storm” of factors that help to address those concerns.
“You had black kids with respectfully white writers and producers. So they were training them not to over sing. … They were making content during the pandemic when everybody wanted God. And they were great songs,” he said.
“It wasn’t like ‘We going to get over it, we going to get over it.’ They were making music that resonated with people because the reality is, we didn’t grow up like our parents. I grew up with a two-parent household. Both my parents [are] doctors. I don’t know nothing about no struggle, no disrespect to anybody. I ain’t grow up on no food stamps in the hood,” he declared.
“My kids can’t relate to — like the way ‘Never Would Have Made It’ hit my grandma, don’t hit me the same way,” he added. “It’s different. We relate to a different story. … And I’m not speaking for everybody. I’m just speaking to the general young black kids. Our struggles today are more internal than they are external forces.”
The critique from Gyamfi, a first-generation American, didn’t go over well with many.
In an extensive response on Facebook Monday, Sapp said Gyamfi’s critique is valid but raised more concern about the way he delivered his message.
“Norman raised valid concerns about how slowly the gospel industry has embraced the digital age. He called out outdated infrastructures, traditional gatekeeping, and the need to prioritize data, streaming, and digital innovation. He’s not wrong in his observation. But here’s where I offer a perspective rooted in both personal success and historical context,” Sapp noted.
“I’ve been a gospel artist for nearly four decades. I’ve witnessed and contributed to every major shift in our genre, from vinyl to cassette, from CDs to streaming. By the grace of God, I’ve experienced billions of streams on platforms that didn’t even exist when I released my first album. But let me be clear: I didn’t get here by rejecting tradition. I got here by respecting it, learning from it, and evolving beyond it without erasing it,” the “Never Would Have Made It” singer said.
“Gospel music has never just been about platforms or placement. It’s been about ministry, credibility, and connection. It’s about the pastor who believed in a young artist. The church that sold CDs after service. The regional gospel fest that introduced a choir to a new city. These weren’t just distribution methods they were spiritual ecosystems. To call them irrelevant or outdated without nuance is to ignore the generations they reached and the souls they touched.”
Worship leader and Maverick City Music member Naomi Raine rejected the narrative that the group’s creation was driven by commercial interests that devalue black tradition. She made it clear that her interest in Christian music has always been “eclectic,” and how that is expressed in the context of the group is purely organic.
“As grateful as I am to be a founding member of Maverick City Music, Maverick didn’t shape that foundation in me. I’ve never pretended to be anything but my authentic self in any song that I’ve sung. In Mav, I’ve never felt pressure to be anyone but me, Thank God!” she wrote in a statement on Instagram.
“All the song leaders in Maverick came together, bringing our authentic worship and praise and lyrics and perspectives and upbringings and backgrounds to form what Maverick was. That wasn’t created by a business executive or a branding deck or a business strategy, that was formed organically in songwriting rooms and writing camps by genuine connections and the Spirit of God!”
Comedian and television personality Jessie Woo called the interview with Gyamfi “a hard watch because he exposes the business behind CCM vs GOSPEL music.”
“My biggest takeaway is that CCM is more money-driven than God driven,” Woo wrote on Threads. “According to this conversation, the Gospel is dead because it doesn’t make money, especially during this streaming era. How do we change this?”
In a reply to Woo, social media influencer Anne Marie Archer said she found Gyamfi’s comments problematic because they seem to prioritize profit over the message of the Gospel, which should be driving gospel music.
“As someone who grew up in church and learned to sing in church. Gospel music isn’t there to make money, it is there to save your soul. And that’s what’s wrong with the whole discussion as I see it. Everything isn’t about making money,” she said.
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