Ghanaian singer-songwriter and producer, Kuami Eugene, has opened up about what he sees as a troubling culture of uncredited work and broken promises within the music industry. Despite penning hit songs for a number of artistes, he says recognition, or even fair compensation, is often withheld.
Speaking in an interview with 3FM, the former Lynx Entertainment signee didn’t mince words about the frustration of watching his contributions go unacknowledged after trusting that credit would eventually be given.
“Some songs that I wrote that we thought, you know what, they’ll do the needful later and it was in my face afterwards. Like so many songs that if I say I’ll make mention of, you would be like, okay, so they didn’t give you a cut for this. And if I have to take all of them on, it would look like he’s a bad one,” he said.
While Kuami Eugene has allowed many infractions to slide, he admitted to confronting certain artistes who took advantage. Among those he named was Mr Drew, whom he approached directly about the issue.
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“Some of them, I took them on. Like Mr. Drew, I took him on and some of them, I figured, you know, just let it go. So, with all these ones or twos, I have, okay, now it’s no more fun game with all of us. Let’s work. If you look at this, of course, this is the hook. What is my cut? Put it here, put it here, my lawyer will give you a call,” he said, highlighting a shift in how he handles such matters.
Nonetheless, Kuami Eugene expressed hope that the industry is evolving, noting that newer artistes seem to have a firmer grasp on business ethics and proper conduct.
“So, I love the fact that this new generation of, I mean, new artistes understand this thing to the brim,” he further stated.
Watch his statement below.
