Sola Allyson: I’m a singer, not gospel artist

Nigerian singer Sola Allyson has clarified that she is not a gospel artist, contrary to popular belief, and also addressed questions surrounding her marital arrangement.

Speaking in an interview with Oyinmomo TV, shared on YouTube on Friday, the Eji Owuro singer said she has never identified as a gospel musician and avoids inserting the name of Jesus into her songs because, according to her, “He did not ask for publicity.”

Code-switching between Yoruba and English, she said: “I don’t sing religious songs. I don’t call myself a gospel artist. My name is Sola Allyson. I am a singer.”

Asked why she doesn’t mention Jesus in her music, she responded: “Jesus didn’t say we should be mentioning His name. He didn’t say we should use His name for PR.”

Allyson, 54, also addressed her marriage, revealing that although she is married, she and her husband do not live together.

“I am married but not living with my husband. He stays in his house and I stay in my house,” she said. “That’s the love older people didn’t tell us is hard. They made it seem like once you love each other, it’s happily ever after.”

The singer explained her views on marriage, stressing that she and her spouse “married each other,” rather than the traditional framing that a husband “owns” the wife.

“Saying I am in my husband’s house is different from saying I married my husband. My husband and I married each other; we are in each other’s lives,” she said.

“Saying I am in my husband’s house gives men a sense of ownership.”

Allyson also spoke on feminism, saying the movement is not an attack on men but a push for equal freedoms.

“Feminism is not saying men are not good people. What feminism was—before anger entered because of how women were treated—is that the choices men have should also be available to women,” she added.