Nigerian singer and songwriter Seyi Shay has stirred up conversation online after revealing why she stopped attending her former church — and it’s all tied to a controversial comment about hymns.
Taking to her Instagram stories, the music star shared her frustration after a church leader criticized modern gospel songs and insisted the congregation return to traditional hymns and scripture-only worship. But Seyi wasn’t having it.
“One leader like dat at my former church said something like ‘we need to stop singing all these new age gospel songs in praise and worship and go back to singing hymns and only songs that are direct scripture…’ Guess what, I stopped going to that church. PERIOD,” she wrote.
Her reason? The historical roots of some hymns.
“I don’t know how or why you would feel blessed and happy by singing some of the songs that slave owners wrote and forced [slaves] to sing… makes no sense.”
She ended her post with a call for awareness:
“Do your research! Ignorance is NOT Godly!!!”
In a follow-up story, she clarified:
“Not ALL hymns were written by slave owners ooo! But a lot of them were. In some cases, you’re better off making up your own praise and worship songs/hymns (based on scripture if you prefer).”
Her bold stance has sparked debate across social media, with fans both praising her for speaking out and others questioning the historical claims.
Whether you agree with her or not, one thing’s clear — Seyi Shay just reignited the conversation on the intersection of faith, history, and modern worship.
