'True artistry in African music is lost when the middle man comes in' - Sarkodie

Ghanaian superstar Sarkodie says he will always be a champion for the creative freedom of African artists while he reaches commercial global success and “virality”.

The 40-year-old rapper chats to Sowetan about his longevity, his belief in artistic freedom and his new music. 

What inspired your new body of work?

I’m the type of musician who composes based on how I feel. Whatever energy I’m in at the time, that’s what I channel into the music. I’ve had this song, Lavida Loca, for a while now, but I remember writing it in Washington DC about two or three years ago.

It was summertime, I was riding in a sports car, the beat came through, and it felt right. It was one of those songs that didn’t take any struggle – the lyrics wrote themselves. I had to let go and flow with it. The song simply means living your best life and letting things be.

How do you feel about the global attention African music is receiving?

It’s amazing to have so many ears on our sound now, but there was a time when Africa wasn’t considered cool. Back then, you might hold on to your culture, but you wouldn’t be too loud about it. You wouldn’t want to show your food, clothes or the fullness of your identity.

Then music brought our pride back. Now people want to be like us. Musicians across the continent and the diaspora did an incredible job, and today the world is watching.

Do you see unity among African musicians?

Yes, but something I learnt early on is that no [African] country is better than another. The Western world infiltrated the continent and tried to create confusion by telling our stories for us and defining who we are – that’s where the problem lies.

So instead of seeing ourselves simply as Africans, I’m thinking ‘Ghanaian’, you’re thinking ‘South African’, and someone else is thinking ‘Nigerian’. If we strip all of that away, we’re just true Africans.

How would you describe the status of music right now?

There is too much of the businessman coming in and messing things up, taking away from true artistry – which is making music based on what you feel. The game has changed; now it’s about numbers, who’s trending, or creating a sound for TikTok dance challenges.

That’s fine – it makes for good PR – but that’s not for every artist. Some musicians want to make music they love, music that still has an audience. The issue is that people’s minds have been conditioned to listen based on how successful an artist is.

But that’s not art. You don’t buy an artwork because of how successful the artist is; you buy it because it’s good. This narrative is pushing many great musicians aside in favour of short-lived trends. I believe we need to get back to signing true artists and developing them so they can sustain themselves in the industry for the long run, just as I have.