About 80% of up and coming artistes have mentioned Sarkodie as someone they look up and wish to be like him some day…
We had this statistics because we have interviewed lots of young artistes; and when the question “Who do you look up to?” comes up, Sarkodie is mentioned as one of the artistes if not the only artiste they look up to. It is not surprising that, the multiple award winning rapper has been listed as one of the most influential people in Ghana and listed in the top 100 influential young Africans.
If these up and coming artistes say they look up to someone like Sarkodie, you can understand where they want to see themselves in few years to come… To be like someone, you need to follow what that person does, understand his approach to things and realize what exactly made you want to be like that person.
The question is, are these up and coming artistes really following the footsteps of their role model? The answer is NO! What you see these young rappers doing are, trying to dress like Sarkodie, trying to rap like him, and fantasizing they are popular like he is… They fail to pay attention to what really makes Sarkodie an influential person and the reason why they themselves look up to him.
These are few hints these artistes should pay attention to if they really want to be like their role model… First of all, you need to fly back into time and recall how Sarkodie got into the music scene. He was on radio shows doing rap battles almost every week and doing freestyles. Those shows still exist even though they are not effective as they were back then. It wont hurt to try them even if you have to pay a small fee to be on those shows. Sammy Flex of Pluzz FM has a similar show airing every Friday. Inquire about how to get on those radio shows and impress the listeners! (People listen to radio almost everyday. Pick out your fans and keep them)
Such platforms are the most effective way to build your fan-base. When you impress people lyrically, they will begin to follow you… When that happens, that is when you will have to keep giving them what they followed you for; and do all you can to keep them listening to you. This is something Sarkodie has been successful in doing for so many years. Are you surprised he has the biggest and most active fan-base in Ghana? From my observations, this is how he kept his career growing alongside his fan-base.
Sarkodie is constantly in touch with his fans. He will retweet everything his fans tweet at him (Unless he is not too sure of who you are or when your tweet looks like a con)… He doesn’t only retweet, but replies most of those tweets. I have seen him done same on Facebook a number of times as well. What is more heart-warming than having a one-on-one chat with your favourite artiste?
When Sarkodie is about to release a song, he will test the mood of his followers (Fans) and make sure they yearn for what he is about to release. He makes them fully prepared and in the mood for what is coming. He sometimes shares some rap lines from the song or explain the concept of the song before it’s released. When the expectation reaches its highest peak, the song is released…
After the release, he will retweet all compliments and thank as many as he can. He will keep sharing the link to the media (Video or Audio) in-between those retweets and replies even though blogs, radio stations etc are also helping to distribute it. If you treat your fans as slaves, they will break out and never come back.
Don’t only communicate with your fans when you have a new song to share. Be creative, bring up interesting topics, write songs targeting your “Small” fans and they will sure grow. Music is a creative art and you need to possess a good amount of creativity to keep your chin above the waters.
Remember that, to be a successful artiste relies on your talent, appearance, humor, communication skills, and consistency. Instead of trying to sound like Sarkodie, make use of these observations and add it to how you sound originally. Thanks for reading and if you have anything to share, please tell us in the comment box. Sharing this article will make my day!!
Source By Mr. Alfred Aborga
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