She started performing at a Port Harcourt, Nigeria, branch of The Apostolic Church, her “training ground,” as she calls it, where she learnt discipline as an artist. Only six years old at the time, a young Chinwo had an obvious affinity for performance. “My dad would see me play with the toys at home, I could use sticks, and I would just turn it into a mic, use clothes to cover the surface,” she recalls to OkayAfrica. “He took me to church and insisted I join the children’s choir, which I did. It really just built me and built my confidence.”
Nowadays, Mercy Chinwo is one of the biggest African gospel artists of a generation. Residing in an upper echelon that counts Frank Edwards and Sinach as co-stars, she’s a true crossover act, with mentions of her name popular beyond the gospel scene. In 2012, Chinwo won Nigerian Idol, an event that she doesn’t like to explicitly discuss, but which, however, prodded her into becoming a professional act.
“I just said to myself, there’s no need hiding this thing, let me just go into it full time, and with my full chest,” she says. Barely three years after the win, her first single, “Testimony,” showcased the velvety vocals that would inspire millions all over the world. An R&B-leaning song, its drums and piano arrangement revealed an artist in touch with contemporary styles. Sometime before Afro-gospel became a nationwide phenomenon in Nigeria, Chinwo was already blending gospel messages with modern sounds, but it wasn’t until 2018 that she released “Excess Love,” her true breakout, a song which would define gospel music for a generation of listeners.
Mercy Chinwo has released her latest album, ‘In His Will.’Mercy Chinwo/M.A.D Solutions
“Excess Love” is a gospel music masterpiece. From the brooding notes to Chinwo’s impeccable vocals, which pulse with sheer strength and vulnerability before the promise of Christ. When that chorus of “Jesus, you love me too much oh” breaks out, it’s always an emotional moment, as the 130 million people who’ve seen its YouTube video will attest. In the comments section, one finds a litany of testimonies of the song offering hope, strength, grace, and peace in the midst of life’s damning troubles to many listeners.
“‘Excess Love’ depicts the unfailing, unending, and unconditional love from a father to a child,” says Chinwo. “I remember when I got that song, I remember the state I was, and looking back [to] how far [I’ve come] and how blessed people have [been] to realize that the love of God is all they need in a world where people don’t really believe in you, where people don’t believe you can become all that God has called you to be. I was actually in that state when I got the song; this is my story. I usually call it my waiting season. The Bible says that those who wait upon the Lord — if you wait upon Him, your strength shall be renewed.”
Chinwo expands on how she created the record, or rather, how she was a vessel for that to happen. “The Holy Ghost helped me to actually minister the song, and He helped me to interpret the song in a way that — there’s no way you listen to the song and you don’t feel like somebody’s hugging you,” she says excitedly. “Looking back at those times and now, I feel privileged and honored to be used by God to express His love through music, through sound, through just obeying and doing what you’ve been asked to do.”
For Chinwo, a major part of creating music rests in the divine inspiration behind every record. As on “Excess Love” and every other record she’s put out, there’s a larger-than-life vision that sees it through from ideation to execution. “Every time I put out a song, trust me, that song must have blessed me so much that all I’ll be thinking of is how do we put this song out there so it can be a blessing to other people?”
Mercy Chinwo was pregnant with her second child while recording her new album, In His Will. This being her fourth album, she’s quite familiar with the process, but the novelty of her circumstances this time made it an even more rewarding experience. “Recording whilst pregnant was fun for me,” Chinwo says, “It was beautiful. Even some days when I didn’t feel like it, I had to do it because of the love for what I’ve been called to do. It just gives you that vibe of recording with an amazing human inside of you; it feels like I’m recording and I already have a backup singer.”
“You Are My God,” the album’s opening song, features a powerful vocal performance that shows Chinwo’s direct songwriting. Addressing God in a style familiar to those who’ve frequented Nigerian churches, it’s a somber piece that opens up one of Chinwo’s most spiritual LPs. From “You No Let Them” to “Onyeoma (Good God),” whose earthy visuals feature a visibly pregnant Chinwo, the album deals in the goodness of divine alignment. Chinwo, however, proves a worthy conduit for these powerful ideals, with her long-honed craftsmanship also proving influential.
“One of the advantages of being rooted or serving in a local church is the discipline it gives you outside church,” she says now. “You learn service first. You’re not just singing to sound nice, you’re actually ministering in real time. That foundation will keep you rooted even when you’re out there, even when the spotlight comes. That is one of the things that helped me and kept me going. That’s one of the things I look back on and I’m grateful to God for.”
With artists like Chinwo and a host of others, gospel music has continued to keep its grasp on the core of contemporary culture in Nigeria and across Africa. As their pop counterparts export their sound to the world, so are gospel musicians. “Gospel music is vibrant, especially here in Nigeria,” she affirms. “It’s crossing borders, streaming globally, people are filling up arenas and blessing lives. We have incredible gospel ministers that are still relevant. The world is listening to Africa, and the gospel is not left out. I feel like we’re doing good.”
Mercy Chinwo is delightful in conversation, answering questions with laughter. As we approach the end of our talk, she affirms the transcendental vision of the record, which is the honoring of God’s promises in her life and, by natural extension, all those who will listen to the album.
“This album is special to me,” says Chinwo. “The Bible in Jeremiah 29:11 says, ‘For the plans I have for you, they are of good and not for evil. To give you an expected end.’ In other words, you can never be disadvantaged because you are in God’s perfect will. Even when you think things are not going the way you want them to go, your life is healed in Christ. You are in His Will, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
