Lawrence Oyor is the Gospel Artist of the Year

We are undoubtedly in a time when the pulsating rhythms of Afrobeats and pop dominate Nigerian music charts. There is, therefore, something quietly radical about a gospel song rising to the top. That’s exactly what Lawrence Oyor, a worship leader and revivalist from Ibadan, managed earlier this year when Favour became the most-streamed Nigerian track on Spotify, surpassing even the glitzy outputs of Wizkid and Burna Boy. This feat is not a win just for Oyor; it ultimately reframes gospel music as both anointed and accessible, a spiritual whisper that becomes a cultural refrain.

There’s a disciplined intimacy in Oyor’s music. Favour feels less like a commercial tune and more like a morning prayer, sincere and unassuming, yet collecting streams in the tens of millions. Here, success is not a gaudy viral spectacle, but the devotion of sustained listening.

In the grand scheme of things, Oyor’s influence isn’t merely personal; it’s cumulative. Consider his duet on the popular ‘I Have Decided to Follow Jesus’ song with Gaise Baba, rechristened No Turning Back II. Released mid-2025, the song fuses classic gospel conviction with urban sensibility, its refrain simple and omnipresent:

“I have decided to follow Jesus… No turning back, no turning back.”

In Pidgin and Yoruba, the verses progress from declaration to spiritual propulsion:

“Holy Spirit… move me… Of course, no going back… I’m steady revving… eyes on the prize.”

This is gospel reimagined—not as distant ritual, but as an affirmation of forward motion, cultural relevance, and generational remapping. Gaise Baba, whose Afro-fusion penchant has long reshaped Nigerian gospel, extends Oyor’s reach into urban faith communities through pulsing beats and vernacular reach.

And then there’s Jugular Jugular, a collaboration with Greatman Takit that trades gentle devotion for spiritual combat. In a recent review on Medium, Simeon Dumle articulated the song’s thematic ingenuity, which is legibly rooted in Psalmic defiance, yet explosively modern:

“He’s talking about having the power to break the jugular of flesh in our lives.”
“Greatman Takit’s verse hits different—naming pornography, spiritual attacks, pressure…”

The phrase “Jugular Jugular” resonates not because it is flippant, but because it inverts vulnerability. It’s not about being stricken; it’s about being empowered to strike back with confidence grounded in faith. In a scene where glamour sometimes eclipses gospel’s grappling with moral complexity, this track stands out for its spiritual clarity and artistic bravery.

Greatman Takit, himself a seasoned figure in gospel’s contemporary terrain, brings rap cadence and street cred, anchoring Oyor’s message in the vernacular of urban spiritual warfare.

When We Will Be Many arrived in early February, it sounded less like a collaboration and more like a summons. Billed under Sounds of Salem and featuring Lawrence Oyor and Moses Akoh, the song quickly became a viral echo chamber: thrumming playlists, reposted snippets, and SoundCloud comments like “on repeat!!!” and “The people are hungry oooo!!!” attest to its cultural reverberation.

At its core, We Will Be Many strikes a chord between collective baptism and prophetic forecast. The lyrics unfold as a refrain of belonging and purpose:

“The nations are waiting… The Master is in need of vessels… We will be many o… We will be many that pray… that preach… that fast until…”

Here, worship becomes both genre and gesture, a pledge extended to communal destiny rather than solitary introspection. Oyor’s voice blends into this tapestry, less a solo than a signal, reinforcing his emerging identity as a spiritual aggregator, someone whose artistry convenes congregation and culture.

A perusal of Oyor’s discography for 2025 reveals a prolific stretch with songs and EPs proliferating across streaming platforms. Highlights include:

• “Sold Out” and “Wait”, both singles contributing to his rising visibility.
• “Burn the World” (with Godswill Oyor), leaning into apocalyptic lyricism through gospel fervour.
• “Come Holyghost”, an EP collaboration with Theophilus Sunday and Lawrence himself.
• “Banner”, an EP reinforcing his brand of worship-inflected expression.
• “I Will Never Bow”, another collaboration with Godswill Oyor.
• A sped-up version of “We Will Be Many”, signalling the song’s viral adaptability.

This flurry of releases crystallises the sense that Oyor is not just active, he is omnipresent. Whether solo or in chorus, his voice undergirds a year’s worth of gospel currents, surfacing in personal devotionals and communal anthems alike. Taken together, these releases shape a nuanced portrait. Oyor is not a fleeting fixture. He is a conduit for intimacy (Favour), allegiance (No Turning Back II), spiritual clash (Jugular Jugular), and then collective elevation (We Will Be Many).

In each case, his artistry sidesteps both shallow virality and solipsistic sermonising. It instead navigates a middle path: worship remade as the shared soundtrack of a searching, digital generation.

In a broader cultural landscape, Oyor represents gospel’s evolving digital infrastructure. Streaming charts are no longer the ephemera of pop indulgence; they are columns of spiritual gravity. His steady aura, which is cultivate, communal and persistently present, feels calibrated for this moment.

Thus, the question evolves: Oyor isn’t simply “hot”, he is integral. An archipelago of songs in 2025, each distinct yet interlinked, rendering him less a trend and more a terrain.

What distinguishes Oyor is not just genre fluidity but philosophical coherence. Across these tracks, the arc is clear. For example, Favour invites you into grace; No Turning Back II locks you into commitment; and Jugular Jugular equips you for spiritual battle.

This sequential catharsis plays out across Nigeria’s airwaves, digital platforms, and spiritual spheres, a narrative arc disguised as a soundtrack. His theology is muscular without posturing, urgent without theatre.

Culturally, it signals gospel’s recalibrated ambition: not retreating to pews, but stepping forward into chart space, Spotify algorithms, Apple charts. This is worship that wrestles in public, music that ministers while topping playlists.

So yes, Lawrence Oyor is the gospel artist of the year. But not like a blazing star. He is more like an ember that refuses to go out. It is warm, persistent, and quietly lights everything around it.

Throughout his releases and features, Oyor doesn’t just chart success; he maps a trajectory: from grace, through commitment, into confrontation. In doing so, he remakes what Nigerian gospel can be: devotional, generational, audacious.