Gospel artiste, Gaise Baba, has criticised The Headies for what he described as the sidelining of faith-based music in major award categories, arguing that gospel artistes should be judged alongside other artistes based on the quality and impact of their music.

Gaise Baba made his position known in an open letter on X to the organisers of The Headies dated August 28, 2026, while reflecting on his experience as a nominee at the awards.

The 18th Headies, scheduled to hold in Toronto, Canada, on October 25, 2026, features nominees across 35 categories, with Afrobeats stars dominating several of the major categories.

The artiste, who described himself as a leading voice in Afrogospel, said he had been involved in the Nigerian music industry for more than 15 years and believed he had the right to speak about the direction of the awards.

He said, “As a faith-based artiste, or gospel as it is more commonly called, I have always had an outlook of not being limited in expression or restricted to only religious gatherings; I will engage across the length and breadth of the industry within which I play, in this case, the Music Industry.”

Gaise Baba argued that faith-based music should not be confined to an inspirational category but should also compete in mainstream categories based on its artistic merit.

He said, “A rap record is a rap record. It does not stop being rap because of what the artiste chose to rap about. Whether the record is about money, fame, sex, debauchery, or faith, the craft, pen game, cadence, delivery, and the flow are what makes it a rap record, not the subject matter.”

He added that music with faith-based themes should be judged in the same way as other forms of music.

“A rap song with gospel content, considered only within “gospel” or “inspirational” categories and never as “rap” is being quietly removed from a conversation it has every right to be part of,” he said.

Gaise Baba recalled that The Headies introduced the Inspirational category in 2022, describing the move as a positive development that formally recognised faith-based records.

However, he said his experience at the previous edition of the awards left him disappointed after the Inspirational Music category was not called on stage.

The artiste was nominated in the category for Particularly, featuring Tope Alabi, alongside Anendlessocean, Mercy Chinwo, Dunsin Oyekan and Limoblaze.

He said his team attended the media rounds, pre-award reception and the awards ceremony, but the category was not presented during the ceremony.

Gaise Baba described the omission as a disregard for the creatives nominated in the category.

He said, “The Inspirational category wasn’t the only one left uncalled, the same disregard applies to every other category affected. Thirty categories can be called on a night that stretched beyond five hours.”

He urged the organisers to allocate sufficient time for every announced category to be presented on the night, arguing that all nominees deserved recognition in front of the audience.

The artiste also questioned why songs centred on other themes could compete for recognition based on artistic value while faith-based songs were restricted to an inspirational category.

He asked, “If a song that explores sexual desire and the objectification of a woman’s body is celebrated for its artistic value and allowed full sway in the industry’s ocean, why should the one on faith be restricted to an aquarium?”

Gaise Baba further challenged music industry stakeholders and the public to consider the cultural impact of faith-based songs, specifically mentioning Favour and No Turning Back II.

He asked, “How many records released in the current year under review have had a greater “cultural impact”, across the length and breadth of this country and maybe even beyond, than FAVOR or NO TURNING BACK II?”

For the 2026 Headies, Gaise Baba and Lawrence Oyor’s No Turning Back 2 is among the six nominees for Best Inspirational Single, alongside works by Sunmisola Agbebi, Lawrence Oyor, Sinach, EmmaOMG and Mercy Chinwo.