In the Path of the Father
In the Path of the Father
An Interview with Dante Bowe by Andrea Nwabuike
There is an African proverb that teaches, “When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him.” Whether these words are received as a warning, or as a blessing depends on the nature of the father. Dante Bowe has chosen to follow in the path of a good and perfect Father and so his life embodies the blessing of the proverb. Bowe’s music, a rich and soulful voice wrapped around lyrics like seeds of hope, is the fruit that grows along the path laid before him. While his story, a journey marked by depths of suffering and joy, testifies of the power supplied to a life yielded in submission to our Heavenly Father.
I caught Dante at a pause in an otherwise packed itinerary. The unhurried cadence of his voice did not portray the intensity of his schedule. I suspect his easy-going air is a credit to his upbringing in the South. Hailing from Rockingham, North Carolina, Dante boasts of a close-knit and supportive family. He credits the depths of his closest relationships for having nurtured his sense of identity.
“Family and friends are everything to me,” he said, “I am super close with my best friends, and super close with my parents, my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my great cousins. More now this year, I’m getting closer and closer to my family. They inspire everything from how I dress, what I believe in, what I’ll say no or yes to. Me being a contemporary artist and a gospel artist simultaneously on the charts is only because my parents are so encouraging and everything about what I do is a representation of their affirmation.”
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The success of Dante’s career as a singer-songwriter under Bethel Music and as a member of Maverick City Music Collective has not eclipsed the deep comfort of home or the safety of his closest relationships. With fondness, Dante shared of his deep love for the rhythms of ordinary life. “I love day to day life. I would do 70 shows, 70 concerts a year if I could and the rest I would just stay at home. I love being in the living room with my friends talking, going to the park. I love going to the lake, I love shopping, I love food. I love going home.”
Ordinary life, the otherwise unremarkable aspects of daily living, provides the perfect stage for God to make His presence more deeply known. When our lusts for novelty, excitement and entertainment are paused, only then can we truly be captured by the beauty and holiness of God. Creating from that place of captivation with the Father is what produces rich and meaningful art. Dante’s creative process exemplifies this posture as he spoke to being in a perpetual state of readiness to receive from the ultimate Creator. He explained, “Creativity doesn’t wait. So, I’m just yielded. I could be driving in the car and get a song. I could be in the shower and get a song. I could be watching a movie and get a song. Last night I got a song on the tour bus. I’m always ready for it, I’m always in the zone.”
Dante’s readiness was rewarded with divine inspiration in the writing of his favourite song, Take Me Back from the album Maverick Vol. 2. Dante remembered, “It’s a song I wrote when I was living in a trailer in Columbus, Georgia and didn’t have anything, no money, nothing. But, I was still very grateful. I wasn’t sad. I had support from family and I had just gotten out of a six year ministry. I was in the kitchen, and I just started singing…
‘I remember when I was young and Your voice shouting loud my name’. I finished writing, had a few friends help me on it. That’s definitely my favourite song.”
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Growing up in a family of church leaders, Dante has long since had an awareness of God’s presence. But his story is not without the chapters of trauma and pain that often plant seeds of doubt and hopelessness. He shared, “Both of my grandparents were in the church, they were preachers. I was raised in the church but through growing up and experiences, I was sexually abused… you stray away. When I was 16, I had an encounter in my room and that's when I always say that I was saved, that was my salvation moment.”
God showed up in Dante’s life in an indescribable way, overcoming the obstacles that time and pain would attempt to use as a barrier between them. That salvation moment in the quiet of a bedroom turned sanctuary was a turning point in Dante’s journey, one that has drawn him towards a peace that surpasses the limits of circumstances. With assurance, Dante declared, “If [God] clothed the lily of the field and He watches over a sparrow… if He does that then I know we can just rest and take it one day at a time.”
Dante further shared of his ability to find rest and peace in all seasons. “Rest is a state of mind. I’m finding peace and rest everywhere now. No matter where I am, if I have a show, if I don’t. It comes down to your state of mind and protecting your boundaries. What I mean by boundaries is to say no sometimes. You have to get away, you have to be alone to go read or pray. That’s why Jesus was asleep on the boat. He was at peace even in the midst of a storm.”
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The unwavering faithfulness of God, particularly through the storms of life, is a consistent refrain in Dante’s music. In his second studio album Circles released in March 2021, Dante recalls the chaos and instability of the past year but with a triumphant voice of joy and gratitude. The album reflects the honesty of soul, the hope of gospel and the smooth sound of R&B. Themes of family, love, grief and hope weave through each song blending the diverse melodies and beats into a cohesive whole. In sharing about the context behind the album Dante confessed, “It was a hard season for all of us. I recorded the album in 2020, I lost my Papa, obviously just went through the pandemic and all the social injustice that was happening.”
“I named the album Circles because that’s honestly what it felt like. You know, sometimes you feel like you’re just spinning out of control. In the song Circles I sing, “We all go through circles, 'round and 'round we go.” We all feel that at some point in our lives. But He’s the God of those circles. He's not panicking or coming off his throne or afraid. He’s the God of the circles. He has the key to death, hell and the grave, not just Heaven.”
That a God of such immense power and majesty offers Himself to His people is a miracle worthy of nothing less than unadulterated praise and worship. Circles is an album that ushers the saints in to the type of worship that galvanizes the weary worshipper and pleases the heart of the One we worship. Dante believes music is an unparalleled medium by which God ministers to His people. “My music doesn’t just play a part in my relationship with God,” he said, “I feel like I actually know music now because of God. You can be a genius and be a great musician, feel like you know music but once you encounter something that's greater than yourself and you start creating with that, that’s when you really start experiencing music in a legit way.”
Creating out of an encounter with the Spirit of God breathes new life into the work of the creative for the greater purpose of edifying and uniting the body of Christ. There is scarcely a sound more beautiful than the voice of a congregation singing words of truth, as if God Himself were the choir master. The unity of the body of Christ ought to be a source of light and hope to a world racked by division and animosity. Dante shared of his conviction that music plays an integral role in restoring and reaffirming a sense of community in the body of Christ. He explained, “I feel like music transcends culture. You can sing things that you can’t say. Jesus uses music and melody in a way that I don’t think anything else is used.”
Unlike anything else, music and melody lower our defenses so that our hearts and minds can meet with the Father with greater intimacy and transparency. In that meeting we are transformed. “If you behold something long enough, you’ll start becoming like the image you behold.” May we behold our precious Father and in so doing conform to His goodness and mercy.
Andrea Nwabuike
Writer & Mental Health Counsellor
Andrea has published in Love Is Moving Magazine
Find Dante Bowe’s work here