Speaking to Showbiz from his Kumasi base last Friday, Lord Kenya said he was very excited when Joe Mettle was announced the winner of the ultimate award, “I was elated and overjoyed because personally, I think it is long overdue, gospel artistes should have won this award long ago,’ he said.

According to him, from the time he won Artiste of the Year in 2002, gospel artistes have been doing extremely well and should have grabbed the ultimate award, “gospel artistes have been marginalised for a long time but I believe God makes all things beautiful in His time so here we are.”

Lord Kenya, however, had a word of advice for Joe Mettle, “Congratulations, we thank God for you but I don’t think you winning the award makes you extraordinary, soul-winning is the ultimate so your focus should not be on award-winning but soul-winning. 

“Worldly people do not have that responsibility but once your album is about winning souls, you have won an award, you will be given a crown in Heaven,” he said.

He was however quick to add, “Don’t get me wrong, it is okay to be appreciated but that should not be the focus because awards will pass away, after a while, it will be forgotten but nothing in this world can be equated to winning souls,” he said.

“Don’t let awards be your priority, it's vanity. I want him to know that his reward is in Heaven so he should focus on winning souls, he started it way way back so he should focus on what he’s been doing,” he concluded.

Joe Mettle won the Artiste of the Year at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards and is the first gospel artiste to have won that award since the award scheme’s inception about 18 years ago.