Minister Israel Onova was heavily inspired by a vivid dream to record his debut Gospel EP titled Manifest, which ties together his faith in Jesus Christ and love for music—something he has been accustomed to all his life.
“My faith and my music are something that cannot be separated,” Onova said. “My dad is a Pastor, and my mom is an Evangelist. He was raised as a good kid from a Christian home. That is my life. Christianity is not a religion; it is a way of life.”
Minister Israel was exposed to music from his parents and grandparents growing up in Nigeria, and he recalls singing in a choir after high school in 1992. Shortly after, he began leading praise and worship, and later became a choir director. Minister Onova moved to the U.S. about a decade ago and he kept his recording aspirations on hold, but he served in the church as one of the lead singers and in the children’s ministry, and has been leading a prayer ministry for over seven years. But one day he had a dream that would go on to shape his musical future.
In this dream, Minister Israel was listening to the radio with a friend, and he heard a song he wrote and sang with his choir a while ago. He told the friend that he wrote the song but the friend questioned him. He saw himself trying to explain, but there was no one around to validate this claim that someone had taken his song for their own. He said there wasn’t much of a chance of him having witnesses of his claim because some of the people that came to his mind in the dream were dead. Nobody would believe him.
After this scary dream he knew he needed to start recording to prevent this from happening in real life, and that is how Manifest came to fruition.
“That was more or less a wakeup call for me,” he said. “I was like, ‘I need to start recording my songs.’ I did not want to experience that in real life. It was like a nightmare.
Manifest is a six-track EP produced by InnovaMuzik. It offers a variety of tempos and musical soundscapes, but one thing is constant: The EP shares the message of Jesus Christ with the world through Minister Onova’s smooth, emotional vocals.
“Most High” was the first song that he recorded, and it took him three times to perfect it. This song is about giving thanks to God because He is the “Most High.” Minister Israel was on a streaming platforms where he interacts with listeners, and one was raving about the new track. The listener said it stood out to him in his trying times, and he said hearing this kind of feedback was “a blessing.”
“That is the reason why we sing,” he said. “I want to be able to connect with other people through my songs. It is not just for financial gains. You want to be able to inspire and motivate them with our faith. The news is not giving you anything positive and social media has taken people’s attention. When people listen to my song and give positive feedback about how it affects them, it is a “big deal.”
“Jehovah Reigns” has a reggae vibe, and Onova said this is a “one-off” to show him as a person. Not only does he listen to Gospel music, but he is also a huge fan of reggae, the music and message of Buchi (Gospel Artist) and Bob Marley.
“Talking about love, I resonated with those parts of his messages,” he said. “Music is about connecting with people.”
The rest of the songs came right from his dream, he said, saying that when God shows him things like that, he does not ignore it. These tracks include the opening song,” Sing Hallelujah,” and then “I Will Praise,” which comes after “Most High.” The title track “Manifest" precedes “Jehovah Reigns” in the four slots, and the album ends with “You Alone.”
Israel Onova desires to spread his music and the message of Jesus across the globe. He said the world is a scary place, but one of the ways he can fulfill the mandate that Jesus gave to His disciples is to go out and make disciples of people.
“The songs that God gives to me do just that,” he said. “Let people know about the love of God and show that this love transcends race, color, and all of that. God really loves the world, and we need to understand and embrace His love.”
Be sure to check out Minister Israel Onova’s EP Manifest and be on the lookout for music to follow. His video for the song “Manifest” will be out on August 2.
