I rejected £24m record deal to remove Jesus in my songs – Panam Percy Paul

Renowned gospel singer and songwriter, Dr. Panam Percy Paul, has revealed that he declined a lucrative £24 million record deal in 1995 because it required him to limit the number of times he mentioned “Jesus” in his songs.

In an interview with Pastor Emmanuel Iren, Paul shared that the three-year contract, valued at approximately N7 billion at the time, came with conditions that would have compromised his faith.

The record label reportedly proposed that he use alternative terms like “Righteous One” or “Greatest Lover” instead of directly mentioning Jesus.

“The catch was, ‘Can you reduce the number of times you call the name Jesus in your songs?’” Paul recounted. “One of them even said to me, ‘You actually don’t need to mention the name Jesus.

You can call Him other names.’ I was shocked, so I told them, ‘You can keep the money while I keep the name.’”

The veteran gospel artist also criticized the increasing commercialization of gospel music, stating that record labels and marketers now dictate how artists create their music.

“Today, the extreme is that the music ministry has now become a music industry,” he lamented. “The industry now dictates to the ministers what to do, how to sing, and when to sing.”