Nigerian gospel singer, Tope Alabi, also known as Ore ti o common, and as Agbo Jesu, has become a household name that means different things to different people.
While some see the gospel singer as an epitome of beauty, whose skin shines like a the early morning sun, others believe Tope Alabi is everything about what gospel music stands for.
Tope, who was the celebrity guest on TVC’s YourView on Friday (December 16), disclosed that her journey into gospel music started while she was age seven. 
Her words: “I had the call eh em…… My mother first had the call when I was age seven and they told her that her only daughter is going to be a woman of God. And because we are Catholic, they thought they should take me to the convent but it later came to them that it was not like that. I think when I was in my 20s, I had a dream where at times I will just see myself ministering to people like in the stadium and I thought I was going to be a preacher. I never knew it was going to music, but thank God here is where I am today. Going into music wasn’t my decision.”
She however described her voice as naturally built. ” My voice is naturally built.”
Speaking on her music career, Tope disclosed that it’s never in her style to prejudge the acceptance of her music. ” Each time I want to sing, I first pray to God. Before writing my music, I ensure that I pray to God. So, I don’t think about making my music a hit.
Narrating how she met the love of her life, Tope described her husband as someone who was born and bread as CAC like TAC man. “My husband is a CAC like TAC man who upholds the dictates of the lord Jesus Christ. He’s like a “sprikoko”. So, when I met him in the studio, because is a studio rat, I can say that. He sleeps in the studio, eats in the studio and in fact does everything in the studio. When I met him, he said sister Tope, I don’t know if you can speak Yoruba, that time I was sister Tope, he calls me Choice now.” He invited me for a church programme and when we got there, the pastor told people to give their life to Christ and he told me to go out but I said I have already given my life to Christ. He said NO!, is it because you compose songs in gospel, you can’t be wearing ‘nets’ like this and call yourself a born again christian. I love wearing nets, I love showing my skin. But after meeting him, he changed my life”
The gospel music legend also used the opportunity to clarify what happened between her and late pastor Ajanaku, saying God and her husband knew everything. “A man invited me to perform in late pastor Ajanaku’s church. After performing, he offered me money which I rejected and told him to use the money for his church upkeep. It took me almost six months before I agreed to see him. But God and my husband knew about it all.”
Tope, a graduate of Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan and a mother of three, is a leading Nigerian gospel singer with a unique voice. She has a total of eleven album to her credit and still counting.
The ‘Ore ti o common” singer however thrilled YourView ladies and her fans with one of her records “Iyanu”.
