Award-winning gospel musician Perez Musik has criticised the tendency to place Ghanaian artistes in fixed musical categories, saying musicians should be allowed to explore different sounds without being defined by a single genre.

Speaking on The Career Trail on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, he said he faced difficulties both when urban gospel was not widely accepted within Christian circles and later when he began experimenting with contemporary sounds.

“One of the challenges was that it's not really an accepted genre in the country. The Christian fraternity hasn't come to terms with that aspect of the song ministry. So it was quite difficult,” he said.

Perez Musik explained that urban gospel provided an avenue for young Christians to express their faith through music that connected with their generation.

He later encountered a different form of resistance when he began exploring contemporary music.

“One of the challenges I faced when I say, in quotes, ‘transition’, was that the people in the contemporary side were like, ‘Ah, who's this? Is he part of us? Is he one of us? Where's he coming from?’” he said.

He stressed that the change was not an attempt to abandon urban gospel but rather an effort to explore his creativity.

“It wasn't intentional. It was just me expressing myself, like testing my limits. I still do urban gospel. My latest song has more of an urban Afro vibe. But I felt like I had to push myself, push my limits,” he said.

Perez Musik argued that artistes should be free to experiment with different musical styles as long as the message they communicate remains clear.

“I love to explore different sounds and I don't see anything wrong with that. I have a problem with it when people categorise and segment. I think it's just music,” he said.

He said musicians should be able to move between ballads, R&B, soul, alternative music and other styles without being restricted by the genre with which audiences first identify them.

For Perez Musik, the problem is partly rooted in how Ghanaian audiences associate people with the first thing for which they become known.

“Ghanaians have a way of boxing you. That's why we call every toothpaste, we call every bath soap Key Soap,” he said.

He said some people in the contemporary music space still do not regard him as a contemporary artiste because of his association with urban gospel.

Despite the challenges, Perez Musik said he remains grateful for the progress he has made.

“But I think it's just the grace of God that has brought me this far. It's just the grace and the mercy of God. And I don't take that for granted at all,” he said.