At the time of Wingy Danejah’s conversion to Christianity in the mid-1990s, George Nooks was still singing secular songs. Then in 2001, Nooks had a runaway hit with his reggae cover of Al Green’s God is Standing By which transformed his career which started in the mid-1970s.

As a contemporary gospel act, Wingy Danejah has long admired Nooks’ remarkable comeback as a spiritual artiste. Last year, he reached out to the former roots-reggae star for a possible collaboration, which came in the form of Hallelujah, a song produced by Righteous Records.

“It was like a spiritual connection. My spirit said to reach out to him and I did on Instagram. I wrote that I felt that we should do a song together, he responded agreeing and we went to work,” Wingy Danejah reflected.

The uptempo song has received favourable response in the Jamaica Diaspora markets in Florida where Wingy Danejah lives. It is a scene that has been receptive to Nooks’ gospel songs which include God is Standing By, Ride Out Your Storm, and I Must Tell Jesus.

Hallelujah continues a busy 2022 for Wingy Danejah who started his recording career shortly after being saved with hip hop-laced gospel songs like Depend on God and I For Jesus. Hands Up (with Puerto Rican singer Biancallove) and Split Personality are two of his other singles this year.

Given ever-changing trends in the music business, he sees nothing wrong with releasing multiple songs in a short period.

“It is important because nowadays it’s about algorithms. People tend to get tired of songs quickly,” said Wingy Danejah.

— Howard Campbell