Segun Lawal Is Elevating African Worship With Charismatic Chords
Segun Lawal’s work as a pianist unfolds as quite noteworthy within this era of African gospel musicians. At first listen, his playing feels delicate, like a drawbridge between presence and expression. In his intimate session with Philippa Hanna in South Yorkshire, what stands out the most is his instinct for atmosphere. As a master of […]
Segun Lawal’s work as a pianist unfolds as quite noteworthy within this era of African gospel musicians. At first listen, his playing feels delicate, like a drawbridge between presence and expression. In his intimate session with Philippa Hanna in South Yorkshire, what stands out the most is his instinct for atmosphere. As a master of chords, he wields the piano as the emotional foundation of the entire space.
In the Philippa Hanna session, especially during the opening performance of Hillsong’s “Yours Is The Kingdom,” Lawal’s drift begins with a soft, attentive approach. He outlines the most important melodic points, especially the phrases where Hanna places emotional emphasis. This gives the performance a tender sense of direction, allowing the piano to guide the worship without overwhelming the vocal lead.
As the song deepens, Lawal drifts into wider arpeggiated runs and rolling melodic figures, creating a flanking melody around Hanna’s voice. At some point, it might have seemed like an expert showing off his skill. Yet, it does not. It feels like a soft current underneath the performance, adding movement without pulling focus away from the singer. At certain moments, he holds sustained voicings for several seconds, allowing the chords to settle into the room and give particular phrases greater emotional depth. It becomes a recipe for sustained anticlimaxes within an already intense performance.
What makes his playing even more enjoyable is Lawal’s sensitivity to silence. When the performance softens and Hanna’s voice needs room to resonate, Lawal pulls back. When she goes quiet, he fills the intentional pauses with brief but powerful passing fills, small bursts of sound that keep the atmosphere alive without breaking its stillness. It is the kind of accompaniment that shows a musician listening as deeply as he is playing.
On another track performed by Hanna, “Here I Am To Worship,” the energy shifts, and Lawal adjusts with it. His tempo becomes livelier, his phrasing more animated, and his notes move with greater speed and brightness. The percussion around him gives the performance a more immersive lift, but Lawal still manages to retain the intimacy at the centre of the worship session. Even in the more explosive moments, his playing remains emotionally aware. He continuously interprets the sacredness of the atmosphere through his performance.
That same instinct seeps into Adedoyin Oseni’s performance during that same concert. Here, he leans less into display and more into passing notes and subtle harmonic guidance. His piano feels almost like a spiritual underlay, simplifying the progression where necessary and adding soul in the moments where the performance needs warmth. The icing on the cake for Lawal here was how carefully he avoided competing with the other instruments. Instead of crowding the arrangement, he listens into it, allowing the voice, rhythm and surrounding instrumentation to breathe while his notes deepen the catharsis of the performance.
Similarly, in Sonnie Badu’s set, Lawal applies the same discipline. Here, the worship environment feels more intense and more communal. However, he threads the performance with tasteful passing notes and rich voicings, giving the music texture. This is where his harmonic sensitivity becomes most apparent.
Across these performances, Lawal’s strength lies in how he shapes sound while being a great team player. There are moments that suggest subtle reharmonisation, where familiar worship movements are coloured with richer harmonic choices, making the songs feel fuller and more emotionally layered. Yet, even when he adds that depth, he does not disrupt the flow of the performance. His work is textured, warm and spiritually aware, built on the understanding that accompaniment is a strength on its own. Generally, Lawal’s understanding of live worship is most apparent in his performances. He knows when to give a performance its lively moment and when to step back into subtlety. His emotional timing elevates his technical ability into much-needed accompaniment, like a missing piece in a puzzle.
Ultimately, Lawal’s strongest gift lies in the catharsis he helps shape. His sound carries emotional fluidity, moving between resonance and release. He holds the show together, binding voice, silence and rhythm into one cohesive experience. For the depth of his sensitivity, his command of atmosphere and his ability to hold the performance together without overwhelming it, his performance sits at a strong 8/10.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Segun Lawal is a pianist, music producer and performer currently based in Sheffield, United Kingdom. His career spans live performance, studio production and artistic collaboration, with a style shaped by expressive piano playing, technical precision and a deep commitment to musical excellence. He holds a Master’s Degree in Financial Management from Sheffield Hallam University, earned in 2023, and has collaborated with respected artists including Philippa Hanna, Bukola Bekes, Moses Bliss and Adedoyin Oseni, among others in the United Kingdom and beyond.
Across stage and studio settings, Lawal continues to build a reputation as a sensitive, disciplined and versatile musician whose work elevates performances with depth, warmth and emotional intelligence.