Afrogospel singer Gaise Baba has put The Headies on notice, publishing an open letter that accuses Nigeria’s biggest music awards ceremony of sidelining faith-based artistes and questions why gospel records are boxed away from mainstream genre categories.
Dated August 28, 2026, and shared on his Instagram and X pages, the letter arrived three days after The Headies unveiled nominees for its 18th edition, which is set to hold in Toronto, Canada, on October 25. Gaise Baba, whose real industry history with the awards stretches back to his first appearance on October 20, 2012, as a Sanctified Records signee, said his fifteen-plus years in the business gave him standing to weigh in on how the ceremony treats gospel music.
His central argument is about classification rather than snubs. Gaise Baba contends that faith-based songs should be judged on craft and be free to compete in genre-specific categories like rap or songwriting, rather than being funnelled exclusively into the Inspirational or Gospel boxes simply because of their subject matter. “A rap record is a rap record,” he wrote, arguing that a rap song with gospel content is effectively removed from the broader rap conversation once it’s treated as inspirational music by default. He pointed to what he sees as a double standard, asking why songs built around sexual themes can be judged on artistic merit within mainstream categories while faith-based records rarely get the same consideration.
The letter also revisited a sore point from the 17th Headies, where Gaise Baba was nominated in the Inspirational Music category for “Particularly,” his collaboration with veteran gospel singer Tope Alabi, alongside Anendlessocean, Mercy Chinwo, Dunsin Oyekan and Limoblaze. According to him, the category was never called on stage during the live ceremony despite nominees attending media rounds and the pre-award reception, a scheduling gap he described as disrespectful given the show’s five-hour-plus runtime. “If categories have been announced with creatives nominated in each, then time should be allocated in planning for every category to be called on the night, on stage, in full view,” he wrote.
Despite the criticism, Gaise Baba was careful to acknowledge The Headies’ standing in the industry, calling it “the biggest, most active, and most recognized music award ceremony out of Nigeria” even with the backlash it has faced over the years. He capped off the letter by pointing to the cultural reach of his own songs “Favor” and “No Turning Back II,” asking the public to weigh their impact against other records released in the same period. For the upcoming 18th edition, Gaise Baba and Lawrence Oyor are nominated for “No Turning Back 2” in the Best Inspirational Single category, up against Sunmisola Agbebi, Sinach, EmmaOMG and Mercy Chinwo.
The letter has split opinion online, with a number of commenters arguing that gospel music shouldn’t be seeking validation from a secular award show in the first place. Still, the conversation adds to a broader, recurring debate in Nigeria’s music industry about how genre lines get drawn and who gets left out when they do.
