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By Emmanuel Daraloye
It’s 2025, and gospel music doesn’t sound like it used to. The organs have made room for 808s, the choirs for layered harmonies, and somewhere between Lagos and London, a quiet revolution is happening.
At the center of it is Urchman a Nigerian-born, UK-based producer whose fingerprints are all over Kojo Sam’s latest body of work: “Ancient of Days,” “Amen,” “Believers Jara,” and “Lord I’m in Your Hands.”
Across those four tracks, Urchman shows what happens when faith meets modern production. His beats aren’t preachy; they’re alive built with groove, warmth, and intent. Where older gospel records leaned into grandeur, his sound feels grounded and personal, like a conversation between heaven and the studio console.
Take “Believers Jara.” The rhythm is infectious a soft blend of Afro-gospel percussion, gentle guitar riffs, and Kojo Sam’s effortless vocals floating above it. It’s joyful but never overblown. The transitions between sections are seamless, the energy dynamic. You can feel that a producer with taste is in control. Urchman’s production lets the listener dance without losing the song’s reverence.
Then there’s “Amen.” At first listen, it’s simple. But listen twice, and you’ll hear how precise it is. The low-end hum carries the melody forward, while the delicate synths and background harmonies create layers of intimacy. This is not the grand stage gospel of old it’s a quiet anthem, built for headphones, not cathedrals.
“Ancient of Days” sits somewhere between worship and film score. The textures are cinematic deep drums, ambient chords, a vocal mix that feels three-dimensional. There’s an expansiveness to the sound that reveals Urchman’s ability to think globally while staying emotionally local. He builds gospel that could play in Lagos traffic or a London train station and still feel perfectly at home in both.
And when you get to “Lord I’m in Your Hands,” you can hear everything come together the emotion, the technique, the intention. The production swells like a wave, then falls away into soft piano and silence. It’s that control that restraint that separates great producers from good ones. Urchman knows when to stop adding.
For years, African gospel music has been trapped between two worlds: the traditional and the trendy. Urchman’s genius is finding the third space a sound that honors both but belongs to neither. He’s part of a global conversation now, one that places African producers at the heart of how modern faith music is evolving.
In interviews, he often talks less about “beats” and more about “feeling.” You can hear that philosophy in every track. His work on Kojo Sam’s project isn’t just a technical exercise; it’s emotional architecture. Each song feels lived-in warm, personal, and full of quiet conviction.
What he’s doing is more than just production. It’s authorship. The kind that reshapes how people think about a genre. In an era where music moves faster than ever, Urchman has found a way to slow it down and make listeners feel again.
Kojo Sam’s project will rightfully earn attention for its messages and melodies. But beneath the surface, it’s Urchman’s hand guiding the experience a producer shaping not just a sound, but a moment in gospel’s evolution.
