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NO LONGER A SECRET: Guvna B

CHRISTMAS HAS come early for UK gospel’s most well-known rapper Isaac Borquaye, otherwise known as Guvna B.

His third album, Secret World, hit no 1 on the Christian and Gospel Music chart (CGMC) in its first week of release and reached no 18 on the national urban music chart, a great achievement for an independent artist.

Secret World is the second CGMC chart topper for the award-winning artist. As you can imagine Guvna is pleased.

“It feels good to be consistent and release music that people can relate to and want to support, especially as I am not signed to Integrity or anything like that,” he told The Voice.

“This is a DIY project where me and some people that I trust formed a team and put in as much effort as we can, not to compete with labels but to do the best that we can with the tools that God has given us.”

Secret World’s success is particularly sweet for Guvna because a placing in the urban music chart signifies his music is reaching people beyond the Christian community.

There are a number of guest artists featured on Secret World including Matt Redman, American newcomer Beasley and gospel star Deitrick Haddon.

Many people are wondering how on earth Guvna got Preachers of LA star Haddon to sing on his album.

DESIRE

Guvna revealed he had told God about his desire to have a US artist featured on his recording. Two days later Guvna got a call from Haddon asking him to write a verse for his album project.

Guvna then told Haddon how he’d like him to sing on the Secret World project and they did an artist swap. The end result is a modern version of the hymn Nothing But The Blood which will be released as a single on Christmas Day.

Reasons for the album’s success are many, but there’s no doubt that a crowdfunding campaign played a big part. Guvna’s fans helped to raise £15,000 by pre-paying for their album copy by donating to the campaign. The funds raised financed the recording and marketing of the project.

Secret World is the first project Guvna has released as a married man. He tied the knot with his wife Emma in June. They dated for two years after being introduced by a youth leader.

Being married has impacted him positively. He shared: “The big thing is that she is really discerning and prayerful.

SHINING STAR: Deitrick Haddon

“Whereas before I might have made decisions in the heat of the moment she’d probably pray and tell me to slow down and always challenge me in the right way.

“It’s not always fun to hear, but I think it’s made me a little bit more wiser and allowed me to take my time and think a little bit more.”

With Christmas approaching Guvna will perform at several events including Hillsong’s carol service at Wembley Arena on December 21.

He plans to spend Christmas relaxing with family, something he’s looking forward to, particularly as when 2016 hits, he’ll be headlining a concert at O2 Islington, north London on January 2 where fans who love the album can experience him live.

It’s Guvna’s prayer that 2016 will be a year of expansion, and it’s a prayer already being answered. He’s got a tour planned for Trinidad & Tobago in March, India in May and in the summer Guvna will perform on the European Festival Circuit.

At the young age of 26, he is already thinking about his future as an artist and beyond and even thinking that he might be getting too old for the rap game after his younger brother shared a word he’d never heard before.

But joking aside, he revealed that his long term plans include setting up a label to help up-and-coming artists.

“In terms of artistic development I don’t see a lot of that in the scene at the moment so I’d like to use the relationships that I have to invest in young people coming through and help them put their projects together.”

There’s no doubt that Guvna B is the man for such an initiative. He’s a visionary and game changer and his past successes prove he’s got the skill and talent to push that ambition through.

Secret World is out now. Visit www.guvnab.com for more details.