Yet, these two have joined forces to make a song called ‘I’m getting ready’. The song is a single off Cobbs’ 2017 album “Heart. Passion. Pursuit.”
The 8-minute song has Cobbs singing about reclaiming one’s throne in hard times while Minaj raps overcoming poverty and opposition with God’s help.
She raps, “I serve a God that parted the Red Sea. Multimillion dollar commercials for Pepsi / From food stamps to more ice than Gretzky / I don’t gotta talk, the Lord defends me / I watched them all fall for going against me / Me and all my angels shot the devil up / While you was trying to pull me down, I levelled up.”
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The release of this surprise collaboration has sparked a huge debate in the religious (Christian) sector as many feel that this union is simply unacceptable.
Online, many feel that they have issues with gospel artists collaborating with “secular musicians who glorify the devil.”
Pulse reached out to Pastor Murphy Ogbe, the Resident Pastor of The Eternal House of Glory Church, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. Surprisingly, he had a different take on it.
He said: “As many as are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. It is not ‘as many as are Christians.God is spirit and they that worship must worship in spirit and in truth. That means that God is radioactive, not tangible. If Nicki Minaj ventures into a presence where God is, God will have to influence her directly or indirectly.”
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“If she is a sinner and sang a song with Tasha Cobbs, then I believe that the spirit over Tasha Cobbs will overwrite any spirit which she came into that studio with. Given time, you will see the result of what just happened.”
Concerning the controversy around the song, he said: “The word ‘Jesus’ is controversy. So if you believe in Jesus, you must believe in controversy. He died and nobody accepted him. Good is not right. As a Christian, if you are waiting for everybody to accept you, then you are wasting your time.”
Reacting to the judgemental behaviour from Christians, Pastor Ogbe reminded people that we are all sinners.
In his words, “I want to believe that we should allow God do his work if we give them the platform.
“Over time, I want to believe that we can accept these people if they are ready to leave their ways. Just like Jesus did we Zaccheus who repented by his own accord without being compelled. Let’s give These people a chance to come close. We can’t keep creating these barriers. We can’t keep making them stay out there; we are not showing love as Christians.
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All of us have sinned, and all of us were forgiven. If we want to judge and measure sin, then there’s a problem. Nobody out-sins the other. Grace cuts across everybody. I’m speaking as a man, God is still God. It is his place to judge Tasha Cobbs, and still judge Nicki Minaj. All I do is to pray for them, and hope that what they did glorifies God.”
“Proverbs 16: 33 says ‘You may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how it falls. What if God wants to use Nick Minaj to bring her fans to God and discover uplifting music? We don’t have the right to judge. God will do what he wants to do.”
Pastor Ogbe’s words turned out to be true as a Twitter user named Anthony has thanked Nicki for “Introducing me to gospel music and the amazing Tasha Cobbs.”
Unfortunately, even this excuse (that a collaboration with a secular artist can bring people to God) is not good enough for a lot of Christians.
The daughter of popular gospel actor Mike Bamiloye, Gift, falls under this category. She put out a long statement titled: ‘THE COLLABORATION OF GOSPEL AND SECULAR MUSIC ARTISTES.’
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According to Gift, these collaborations are misleading. She adds that “it's a fallacy.”
Here is an excerpt:
“Gospel songs are produced for the glorification of the Kingdom of God. It is a spiritual issue, a weapon God uses to contend for the hearts and minds of men…
This definitely dilutes the seriousness and respect of Worship. Is that what God really wants? We may claim that it is a way of bringing them into the light of Christ. But at the expense of millions of people around the world?
Thousands brought to the light of Christ through you whose faiths are not yet on a strong enough foundation but are watching you because they first felt Christ through you. What message are you passing across to them?
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If we want to bring a soul to the side of the Lord, let our words be used to sow the seeds of conviction and let the HolySpirit do His work. There are some lines that you don’t cross for the sake of those God has placed in your care.
Paul already emphasized that whatever would make another to stumble should be put away. The Truth never changes.”
The 36-year-old gospel music singer has used Romans 14:1 from the MSG Bible to defend her decision to collaborate with the mainstream rapper.
Using her Instagram account, she wrote, “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.”
This was accompanied by these ‘interesting’ hashtags: “#KingdomAgentsEverywhere #ImGettingReady #MyGirlSMASHED #IfeelJesusEveryTimeIHearIt #tears #IntoAllTheWorld #SheknowsGodBetterthanSomaYall #andHeKnowsHer, (SIC)” Cobbs-Leonard wrote. “Let’s Go Boo!!!! @nickiminaj #heartpassionpursuit.”
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Cobbs has also thanked Minaj for doing the song. Her Instagram post read: “I want to take a moment to appreciate my friend @nickiminaj!!! Thank you for shouting your praise for the world to hear and for putting your love for God on display.
“As I tell you often, I’ll say it for the world to hear… I will forever cover you in prayer! Many will be blessed and have an authentic God encounter because of the stand you chose to make with this record and THAT is all that matters!!!”
This argument is still on. Whose side are you on?
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