Kcee opens up on why he almost quit music

Following the discourse that trailed singer, Waje‘s viral interview where she said she might be quitting music, other artistes have made their frustrations with the industry public.

Waje had complained about having to prioritise funds and her unwillingness to continue to spend her hard-earned money on music promotion. In this interview with Punch Newspaper, Limpopo singer, Kcee expresses his own struggles, his understanding of Waje’s plight and describes how he has had to fight on despite the debilitating effects the industry has on artistes.

Kcee said, “I saw Waje’s video and I was touched. I was supposed to say something about it but I was busy with my album project. However, I spoke to a few people about it. The truth is that the industry is a fake one; I am not just talking about the Nigerian music industry, but globally. Everybody is struggling. I have been in this business for 19 years and at every point in time, you have A-list artistes and they are about ten.”

“These set of people are the ones making all the money. There are hundreds of artistes behind them struggling to get to make it to the top ten list. These other artistes keep spending the same amount of money (the A-list artistes spend) to just get there and they also have to live like a celebrity. This costs a lot of money. If you do not have the drive and focus to keep the fire burning, it is going to weigh you down“

He further went on to explain how he took time off at the early stage of his career to venture into furniture business but had to return because of his passion for the art.

Kcee added, “That was what gave birth to the Limpopo era. It was determination; it was me being focused plus I had the grace of God. The message here is, what Waje said is not happening to her alone but to a lot of artistes. She was able to speak out. You need to listen to other people. Her situation might be better than a lot of them. The average video I shoot costs about N4m. I can travel anywhere to shoot my video; I do not want to talk about the cost of hotel and other logistics. I have been able to promote some artistes under my label and I know how much I invested in them. I know how much I shot their videos. That is why sometimes I look at the up-and-coming artistes and tell them to appreciate their labels. It takes a lot.”

“The talent is five per cent, you need 95 per cent to polish your talent and put it out there. People bring in their money and invest in some of these talents but when they enjoy the limelight, they get to see themselves as God and they begin to insult those that invested their money in them. Those set of artistes have discouraged a lot of labels from investing in other artistes; if not, someone like Waje would not be crying because she is a ‘sure market’ and any label can invest (in her). Some of those artistes have discouraged a lot of labels like us so we do not feel safe to invest in them.”

“When you invest in 80 per cent of them, once they enjoy the limelight a little, they begin to feel you are using them or taking their money. They do not know how much you paid to promote the music or shoot their videos. There is a lot involved. My message is that always be in control, you can get out of any situation as long as you are alive and have the talent. You just have to believe. It has happened to me several times. I do not care what anyone says about me. If I care about what people said, I would have quit music since. I have a lot of things I can do and I would never be hungry but I love music and I have been relevant for 19 years.”

Kcee is currently working on a new album, Eastern Conference which he plans on using to promote the culture and show to the world that highlife music is enjoyable.