Over the weekend, Sarkodie held the launch of his annual Rapperholic Concert slated for 25th December. The launch which took place at the Samsung Theatres had the press, other media personalities present.
One of the questions that was thrown to Sarkodie that drew our attention was from entertainmentgh owner Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo who asked: I want to find out why you’ve not produced another monster hits in the last three years?
Sarkodie answered by saying, “There are types of artiste and you need to identify your strength first. If you take a Davido, a Wizkid, R2bees, Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale. Shatta Wale does both what I do and what I’m about to explain. Their major strength is a monster hit. They need that to survive in a way. So, if as an artiste I choose to go on that path, which sometimes it will work cause I know the formula. But when you choose that you need to be ready for the pressure that comes with it or you have core fans who love you for what you really stand for and that’s rap cause I’m not an afrobeat artiste. Most times, you will need as you said you have a Castro to do a hook, you have a Runtown to do a painkiller, that is not my lane. I just go in, make sure I feed my fans what they need cause those are the numbers that stay".
The rapper who had just given a speech at the L.E.A.D series hosted by Jay Foley of Live FM continued to say that, “People who love Adonai, might not necessarily be a fan of Sarkodie but they love the song. So, if you call a typical Sarkodie fan, you ask him to mention three songs, you might not even hear Adonai. They will tell you Revenge of the Spartans, they will tell you the Highest, they will tell you Original and that’s what makes Sarkodie". The rapper who said in one of his song ('Overdose' off the Highest Album) that relevance does not depend on hit songs, believes hit songs don’t define his brand and he stated it emphatically.
“My career is not dictated through that monster type of situation. Sometimes, I have that huge records that I know if I release tomorrow, it’s gonna do the same thing that this song did. But I don’t want you (the media) to put me in that lane. That’s my main reason. But yeah, obviously, it feels great to have the biggest song, Adonai actually pushed me to the next level. I wish my DJ (Mensa) was here, he always argues with me that he wants me to stay on that side cause he’s thinking about we doing shows and get money but I feel numbers are very necessary. Certain fans don’t appreciate songs like that. They need you to rap, that might not be played on the radio, but they love it so that’s what I stand for”.
Sarkodie answered by saying, “There are types of artiste and you need to identify your strength first. If you take a Davido, a Wizkid, R2bees, Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale. Shatta Wale does both what I do and what I’m about to explain. Their major strength is a monster hit. They need that to survive in a way. So, if as an artiste I choose to go on that path, which sometimes it will work cause I know the formula. But when you choose that you need to be ready for the pressure that comes with it or you have core fans who love you for what you really stand for and that’s rap cause I’m not an afrobeat artiste. Most times, you will need as you said you have a Castro to do a hook, you have a Runtown to do a painkiller, that is not my lane. I just go in, make sure I feed my fans what they need cause those are the numbers that stay".
The rapper who had just given a speech at the L.E.A.D series hosted by Jay Foley of Live FM continued to say that, “People who love Adonai, might not necessarily be a fan of Sarkodie but they love the song. So, if you call a typical Sarkodie fan, you ask him to mention three songs, you might not even hear Adonai. They will tell you Revenge of the Spartans, they will tell you the Highest, they will tell you Original and that’s what makes Sarkodie". The rapper who said in one of his song ('Overdose' off the Highest Album) that relevance does not depend on hit songs, believes hit songs don’t define his brand and he stated it emphatically.
“My career is not dictated through that monster type of situation. Sometimes, I have that huge records that I know if I release tomorrow, it’s gonna do the same thing that this song did. But I don’t want you (the media) to put me in that lane. That’s my main reason. But yeah, obviously, it feels great to have the biggest song, Adonai actually pushed me to the next level. I wish my DJ (Mensa) was here, he always argues with me that he wants me to stay on that side cause he’s thinking about we doing shows and get money but I feel numbers are very necessary. Certain fans don’t appreciate songs like that. They need you to rap, that might not be played on the radio, but they love it so that’s what I stand for”.
We all know an artiste without a core fan base doesn’t last in the game and Sarkodie has been able to keep his fan base closer to him which apparently keeps him over the years even without hits like U Go Kill Me and Adonai to push him. An artiste needs identity to survive and keep loyal fans. We hope upcoming artistes pick an idea from this and work on their brand.
Listen to audio here
By GKE Raymond
Listen to audio here
By GKE Raymond
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