I am not a fan of religion. I explained it all here. But I do love my music. And even though I don’t see the church pulpit as often as I used to when I was young, I still find myself singing along to popular gospel songs in the car.

I bet you do too.

So what do I believe in? The only religion I know is love. Or as Kerby put it in his revolutionary 2018 album – Mapenzi, Sio Dini.

But of late, I’ve strangely been drawn to Christian songs. And not just any but Kenyan gospel songs that we grew up with in the 2000s.

What I loved about them is they were relatable and straight to the point. They were also free of all the glam and social media fame you see nowadays in gospel music videos. It wasn’t about how many views they got on YouTube, but the deep spiritual message that completely blessed your heart.

Maybe that’s why they are still so memorable today.

Remember the animated music video of Tumshukuruni Bwana by Reuben Kagame with those dancing sunflowers? Who’d periodically look at you and flash a toothy smile? Good times.

Initially, I wanted to combine the old school with the few authentic Swahili gospel songs of our time. But the old has too much gold; I almost got lost in the music archives guys.

So let these 10 old school Kenyan gospel songs take you way back in time, when HD cameras were still a rumour. From the original Mercy Masika to when Kanjii Mbugua was the Mavuno worship leader (he’s now recording acoustic sessions on YouTube).

Know what, I bet your mom was still cooking chapatis on Sundays when you first heard these classic jams.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=PLeAa1Fxu0jMsL5rMmc6mbHZDJLSMMpbl3&w=640&h=360]

And please don’t blame me if these Swahili gospel songs get stuck on replay in your head for the rest of the week.

If there’s something I’ve learned from them, it’s this: You don’t have to be religious to enjoy gospel music.