Anendlessocean is Making Contemporary Nigerian Gospel Music Relatable For Everyone
Anchoring his preference for musical diversity with a wholesome expression of his Christian faith, Anendlessocean has captured the ears of young people who want to be connected to God in the most relatable way possible.
An image of Anendlessocean on stage during his Lagos stop of ‘The Hexagon Tour’, on Dec. 1, 2024.
On the evening of Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, hundreds of mostly young people are crammed inside the Dele Pearl Ballroom, an amphitheater-sized room in The Jewel Aeida, a sleek-looking event center in Lekki, Lagos. The air is a mix of enthusiasm and spirit; gospel artist Anendlessocean towers above the stage, masterfully balancing between being overwhelmed by the euphoria and being one with his attentive, dotting audience. On more than one occasion, voices sing his songs in chorus with minimal instrumental backing. There's joy, pure and undiluted, tangible even.
Last year, during the collective annual ritual of Nigerian social media users posting their Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay summaries, it was common to see Anendlessocean tucked in between a raft of secular artists. This represented a significant section of his fans and listeners, which he has accrued in recent years: young people seeking connection to God in the most relatable way possible.
Perhaps the best way to describe the music of Anendlessocean, who also goes by AEO, is contemporary gospel, which honors his work's musical and thematic depth. His catalog of two albums and two EPs has an expectedly soulful foundation, yet it surprises with its remarkable sonic range. His compositions transition from gently stirring folk-pop to energetic, log drum-driven tracks.
"One thing about me is that I love variety because God loves variety," AEO tells OkayAfrica in an interview. On last year's debut album, Decagon, he flitted between mellow yet groovy fuji-pop ("L.N.B") and mid-tempo Caribbean pop ("Wildfire"), among other sounds. The difference between "Nazarene" and any amapiano-indented Asake song is its pure dedication to the celestial.
"I'm not a results-oriented person; I'm more of a process-oriented person," he says, adding that he was never fixated on becoming a popular gospel singer. "This is one of the things that I can even manage because, in my head, this is like a bonus. I think sharing art is already the greatest achievement, but the fact that people love it and many want to be part of it is just an additional blessing."
Born Ayobami Alli Hakeem, AEO was raised by a Muslim father and a Christian mother. He practiced both religions at different points before loudly embracing Christianity. Like many artists, he was in the choir but not as a singer. "I used to play bass," he recounts. "My teacher at the time told me, 'I think you can start writing songs,' and I went with it."
Earlier in the year, the singer released Hexagon, a largely romance-themed EP with wholesome expressions of admiration and adoration. The musings on romantic commitment are parsed through the sieve of AEO's Christian faith, a marker of how closely his music is tied to his experiences and is considerate of the human condition, an element of his artistry that has pulled in listeners who see his music as a connector to God and also a reflection of their own lives.
"I think, in general, music is music; it's the message that makes it secular or gospel," AEO says. "One of the reasons people listen to secular songs is because, primarily, the music is good. When we talk about gospel music now, I think that because the music is just better, people would definitely latch on to it, and they can get to the message later on."
