Popular gospel singer Jimmy Gait has made his comeback after a four month hiatus, looking to make a hit with the timely track Corona.
The video of the virus- titled song begins by telling the tale of a woman who, conveniently for Gait’s plot, is married to a European man.
The scene introducing the track shows the controversial gospel artiste receiving a call from the woman, named Akinyi. She informs Gait of the death of her husband, a coronavirus victim.
“Corona inatisha ulimwengu, lakini Mungu yupo,” he sings, passionately assuring faithfuls that all will be well with the help of God.
The video features images of the ongoing efforts to deal with the pandemic, including footage from international news reports showing emergency response teams attending to patients.
The artiste is relatably portrayed as anxiously monitoring the rising death toll and rapid spread of the deadly virus. The track then relays tips of how people can protect themselves from the disease.
“Walioadhirika ni watu kama sisi, tusiwaachilie,” he sings, urging his fans not to stigmatize victims of the ailment.
Internet users were quick to react to the song, with many Youtube commenters applauding the artiste for the production quality and positive message.
“People will flock here to hate, ridicule and thumbs down. But Gait you outdid yourself here vocally and production wise…. Not bad!” wrote a user identified as Mr Ronafella.
“So touching… Everything is going to be alright,” wrote Jose Katumbide.
“Dude, it feels like you had this song ready…telling from the high quality production. Anyway, good song ,sensitization lazima,” wrote Moses Kiptanui.
“It is going to be alright! This is the message that should be going around! Thank you so much Jimmy for this song to remind us that God is in Control! Guys, share with a friend. The message is simple. itakuwa sawa. The devil is a liar! Kenya is set apart! Fear will not make us forget a bigger God!” wrote Njeri Muthaka.
The gospel crooner has however been accused of being an attention seeker in the past, noticeably using trending topics as titles for his songs.
Things got tough for the singer after he released the cover of Adele’s record- breaking song- Hello.
“In 2017 I was a victim of cyberbullying after I did a cover of the song Hello by Adelle. I did the song from a very positive place in heart, then released the song on YouTube. Early the next morning, I received a call from Larry Madowo, the then host of the Trend, from NTV asking me to give him an exclusive interview since I was trending at number one on Twitter because of the song! To my surprise, I was receiving insults and so much hate that I could not even comprehend. My world had come crashing down and I felt people were unfair to me and this one that they didn’t seem to agree with made them forget all the music I had previously produced, ’’ said the artiste in a 2019 interview.
After the trending of the urban term “sponsor”, referring to a man or woman who finances the extravagant lifestyle of a lover in exchange for sex, Gait then released the track Yesu ndiye sponsor. The song was met with outrage and backlash from a large section of the public for apparently disrespecting God by comparing him to sponsors. The backlash was reportedly so intense that the gospel singer’s mental health suffered.