Face: Bernice Blackie
By Nat Bayjay Front – PageAfrica (Monrovia) Others may call her the ‘Mary-Mary’ of Liberian Gospel music; some may equate her to Liberia’s version of the likes of Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and their likes. But for her, it is just simply contemporary Liberian Gospel music brought to the fore.
With her eyes mainly fixed on bringing Liberia’s youthful population unto the Gospel of Jesus Christ through her own musical touch, Brenice Blackie has stepped into the country’s growing list of Gospel musicians but with a unique and different style. She hopes to use this style to take Liberian Gospel to another level and has no intention of faking anything.
“That’s my real self. I don’t want to fake anything because that’s the real Brenice”, she says.
As a longtime admirer of America’s Hip-Pop music dating back to age 8, Brenice now brings such dream home but in her own way. Her music is tilted between Hip-Pop and a little RnB if you like, yet she infuses some Liberian style like the much-loved ‘Colloqua’ and some local dialects (through featured artists). But surely, it is being widely accepted among her targeted youthful audience.
“I realize that most of the young people love Hip-Pop and I said to myself, ‘I think this as an opportunity to bring young people to God, to win souls for God’ and that’s what I’m doing”, she adds.
She explains that with this style, she is able to express herself better: “Most of these young people go to the club and dance because they are attracted to such style; so, I’m like, ‘Why can’t I just do it the Jesus way and reach it to the people?'”
Since her music hit the musical staple a few months ago, it has already begun taking deep roots, though it was earlier misunderstood by a few sector of the listening audience to be secular.
Brenice’s hit of ‘Father’s Love’, ‘You Na Do It Again’ and ‘I Feel Your Pain’ among others are hitting the airwaves nationwide and being played on youngsters’ ‘pehn-pehn’ bikes as they speed with their passengers. And ofcourse, they sing along too.
But with the high sudden emergence of hitting high on the market and already making for herself a name in no time, the usual critical question and skeptism have already started popping up: that she might just be using the Gospel way as a means of launching herself into stardom and then later switch to secular.
But to this, Brenice smiles and replies: “Oh, no. Like the Scripture says, ‘It is not by my might, not by my power but by the spirit of God’. I’m not coming as a perfect being. But I am not coming to switch.”
She is in no hurry for fame but her passion to serve God by ministering to people through her newly-found music remains Brenice’s desire and a dream come true.
“I’m not looking for fame because if it is just fame, there are a lot of things out there that I Brenice can do to bring me fame. I’m searching for the soul and not the fame”, she clarifies.
Since the release of her debut single ‘Crucifix’ about a year ago, the 23 years-old singer is constantly being invited to grace musical concerts where hundreds of her fans are thrilled to her live splendid performances as she intersplices them with skillful dances. But her ‘Father’s Love’ and ‘You Na Do It Again’ hits seem to be most-adored, hugely impacting her 8-track album that re-introduces ‘Crucifix’.
And you can put your bet on this one: they are being played in both religious and social gatherings including the Church and its related activities as well as entertainment centers and night clubs.
Now the videos to the songs were just recently produced and waiting to be launched sometimes in August of this year.
Brenice can only but stare into deeper stardom as Liberia’s leading youthful musician looking to break the chain of ‘rise and fall’ syndrome among the country’s rising stars that often yield to detractions and subsequently get their games and fame killed.
As the entire nation watches out for that concert launching her video which contains all these hits, this is Brenice’s response to the above fear: “But for me, it [switching from Gospel to secular] is not going to happen; it’s going to be different”.
