By Ibrahim S. Bangura
Nashito Kulala a popular music producer in Freetown, has said that lack of musical knowledge has stalled the growth of Sierra Leonean musicians and prevented them from gaining international recognition.
According to him, most of them are too hasty to make money and fame without honing their knowledge and skills in music, sometimes forgetting to nurture their talents to perfection, which is the most important thing.
Making reference to Asake, a musician of which Ghanaian are very proud who burst onto the musical scene barely two years ago, whom he said had a sold out at the 02 Arena in an event that grossed millions of British Pounds Sterling. He emphasized, “Asake went to University to study Creative Arts. The likes of Yhemo Lee, Fireboy, Blaqbones, etc., were all present at the same University at that time. Not only did Asake rely on his talent, but also went the extra mile to properly educate himself. All these things take time. He has been grinding for almost ten years before he was finally unveiled to the global scene. He persevered. This is the energy our musicians in Sierra Leone don’t have.”
Kulala said that it takes a lot of hard work to take any artist to the global market. “Relying on ‘fine voices’ and a few ‘lucky bars’ are not enough to take any artiste to super stardom. Our musicians are not putting in their times and efforts to make something great. They never have time to construct simple and clever verses in their songs. Writing just one lazy verse, they have taken themselves as super stars. I read where Ruger said when he started recording ‘Asiwaju’ one of his hits. According to him, after one verse, he got to a point he knew the song was going be a hit. So he stopped recording it. Then, he took his time to write it well before he could forge ahead to record the song. Asake didn’t rush to complete it. The same was said about CKay’s global hit, ‘Running to You’,” Kulala narrated.
According to Kulala, there are people who always think beyond their present situation and work their ways into the future, and those who want to harvest everything just in one day.
He said that many of the musicians in Sierra Leone do not know what they want, what they are doing and where they are going.
According to him when a person is fully prepared, he/she would not find it difficult to take an opportunity when it chances. “Talent is talent, but are you ready to take yours to the next level? When the opportunity eventually avails itself, will you be well prepared? Will you be in a position to do an interview with CNN and BBC for an hour and be confident of saying the right things to boost your career? Believe me or not, sometimes what you see as your best, is not even enough for an average upcoming artiste out there,” he explained.
Kulala encouraged musicians in Sierra Leone to put more efforts in their crafts so as to move themselves and Sierra Leone Music to the global scene. “I advise my brothers to educate themselves in whatever they have decided to do. Talent is only useful when it is mastered,” he concluded.