Matthieu: The new star of Gospel music

Abbe Matthieu Francis was born on the 15th of June 1986 at Evoudoula in the Lékié department. He sang for his first time in a church at Evoudoula when he was 3 yrs old .

He began singing when he was 6 yrs old and playing the guitar at 10 yrs old. His first musical group was the choir “new generation” in a parish of Evoudoula at the age of 7, managed by late pastor Okala.

In 2001, he went to Yaoundé to further his studies in anthropology and presently waiting for his transfer where he will be teaching Cameroonian languages and culture.

The fact is that,staying with his cousin Dieudonné Bikélé really instigated him to do music. There, he met a number of musicians particularly Jean Pierre Essome, Koffi Olomide, Papa Wemba, Richard Bona.

In 2004, he started singing in the cabaret “Terre batue” where he interprets songs of great Cameroonian singers like Eboa Lotin, Lokoua Kanza, Donny Elwood, George Séba and many others.

He did cabaret just to improve on his stage performance and stoped in 2005. In 2005 then, he decides to do only gospel music in solo.

His album has a maxi single “Revelation” and with 5 strong titles,they include

Marre de ma vie; this song talks about someone who have enough to live without Jesus Christ, for, living without Jesus means you are not living at all.

Dzu ma; which is in Eton means forgive me, in this song he is asking God to forgive him for all his sins.

Elever; here he is asking God to raise him.

Les loups dans la bergerie; he sings about religious hypocrisy.

Aimer Jésus; he sings about God loves for us and thus he is also inviting people to love God.

This album was directed by pipiyou and will be out soon.

In an interview with Matthieu he stated "I am not afraid for my album success, because all what God does is beautiful, good and it is not always to please the public but to make them understand and glorify the name of God."

According to him he believes the purpose of artistic work is not always lucrative.

"I see the gospel as a whole, people must not think that it is only when you put biblical verse in songs that the song becomes a gospel".

To make a good work, learn to work with professionals, and stop making barriers between church and those that we qualify to be “of the world”. What I want you people to understand here is that, the gospel has no boundary.He added