MY TAKE ON "SECOND SERMON" by BLACK SHERIFF. || Apostle Abeiku Okai

I have listened to Black Sheriff's sensational song, '2nd Sermon', over and over for the past few days. I am not sure I have ever listened critically to any secular music like this one, and 'Things Fall Apart' by Kofi Kinata.

I believe the reason I am attracted to this piece of art by Black Sheriff is because of my love for poetry and aesthetic arts. For no one can deny that the song carries everything you can call excellent artwork. 

However, before you criticise me for listening and even commenting about a secular song just because I am a pastor, first understand that I am an English and literature teacher. I also studied Theatre Arts at the University. Besides, I am a poet and I have written and recited countless poems on different subjects such as love, religion, politics, society, culture, pan Africanism, slavery, life, death, etc. If these poems were sung they wouldn't fall into the category of 'gospel music' just the same way if Songs of Solomon were sung today they wouldn't fall into the category of 'gospel musi'c but rather, the same category music from Kwabena Kwabena, Celine Dion, Judy Bucha, etc. would be. Therefore, allow me to freely discuss art. 

To start with, let me affirm that '2nd Sermon' by Black Sheriff is not making huge waves for nothing. The song carries within itself the passion, drive, diction, and all that is required for a piece of music to hit the soul of man. Every listener, even if the person is not within the circle of the hustling or street life the song speaks about, will have every reason to identify with the song and its reality.  

On that note I will want to mention two things that strike me most and make me sad from the message within the song:

There are two female characters mentioned in the song; Aunty Merie and Sister Mariam. 

Aunty Merie is his mother. And he says Aunty Merie doesn't know the kind of messy life he is living in Accra. 

"Aunty Merie nnim sɛ this be the life adey live for here (Accra)."

If she knew, he says, she would be stressed up, presumably resulting in her death. That is why he keeps all to himself. 

Sadly, poverty has pushed most of our youth into the kind of life that is very opposite to the upbringing and expectations of their parents. Left with parental choices every child would be academically astute, morally upright and culturally outstanding. For nobody is a bad parent; circumstances have destroyed the hopes of several parents. For example, I personally lived on my own, sleeping on verandas and people's kiosk, selling lotto papers, and newspapers to survive until I completed Junior Secondary School, in Accra.  

But the sad truth is that sometimes we see young people going wayward and we insult their parents, assuming we are better parents only because our children are not found within those circles. Those who haven't given birth yet also assume that, given the chance, they can raise their kids better than other parents whose children have gone wayward. But that is far from the truth. 

I am fortunate to come from a family of priests. I have four brothers and all of us are in ministry. The oldest one is a pastor, the next male was an Evangelist (he is late), the next is an elder and a Bible Teacher at his local church, the next is a Prophet and I, the last male, am an Apostle. Besides, my mother is an Evangelist (my grandma was a prophetess and most of my uncles, aunties and cousins are pastors). 

Looking at this you would say my mother is a good parent. But I have never seen or heard my mother giving credit to herself for our lives. On the contrary, she always says it is by grace and that she had always prayed for God to take hold of her children due to the extreme poverty and overwhelming challenges she had to face in life at the time. 

I can imagine Aunty Merie's prayer for her son, supposedly, the troublesome "Kweku Frimpong", who is prophesied in the song as somebody who would bring trouble at all cost. 

Parents are crying within themselves. The hardship of life has caused their children to loose free from the kind of training given at home. This is also why the state has a high responsibility to ensure the economic situation in the country is given all the needed attention for the better. When families fall apart and when children go wayward because of poverty they become a threat to the nation and everybody. 

In the same way, the church and the educational system should up their game. As a matter of fact, everything and every institution in the nation, from religion to politics and the corporate world, need fixing, for the sake of our youth and the next generation. Let's build this country with true patriotism and save our youth from economic hardship. 

The second character I will talk about is Sister Mariam. "Silence for a minute." May she rest in peace. 

You will see from the song that this late sister was the hope to the young man taken over by bad street life, particularly scamming. In the song, the singer says after the death of Sister Mariam he had to get to Accra to hustle. Sad.

 "Sɛ wogyaa yɛn hɔ no, mesan bɛhyɛ Nkran bɛ trappi (Trapping nkoaa)."

When a person dies the destinies of all who depend on her/him are shattered. This reminds me of one of my cousins who was growing up well and receiving the best of education under the care of one of my my late uncles. Unfortunately, my uncle attempted to reach Europe through the Libya desert but he couldn't make it to Libya. He lost his life in the desert. We were all devastated but worse was the sad curtailing of the education of my cousin, who had been adopted by my uncle and had a very promising future ahead of him. 

The Akans say when a father dies another father is alive. But the current African life is not true to this proverb any longer. We have broken our external family system down such that the demise of one person becomes the inevitable death of several futures attached to the deceased. We need to go back to our culture of community lifestyle, ie taking care of one another, especially when the unfortunate happens. 

Sister Mariam was a great hope, support and a mentor to this young writer. Acknowledging her so passionately and even asking her to pray for him simply tells us that the greatest gift we can give to any young person is to become their hope. In that way even in your death, such a young one would have you in mind and heart. Thus you will continue to live on in them. 

Kudos to Black Sheriff for such a great sermon to the nation. And let me also appreciate the music video, which doesn't display naked women, alcohol and those sensual stuffs our secular musicians think would sell their music. The brandishing of the cutlass and the costume of the 'twelve boys' fit the dramatisation of the core message of the song and therefore, they are rightly in place, even though some commentators are against it. 

Apst. Abeiku Okai

(+233) 0249287855

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