Socrate Safo, a Ghanaian filmmaker has descended on Sarkodie over his recent comment about Ghanaian radio presenters.
The rapper during an interaction with Fire Stick, a Ghanaian UK-based stylist and fashion critic, expressed worry over how Ghanaian radio presenters and pundits mount pressure on Ghanaian artistes to break boundaries.
According to Sarkodie, he doesn’t understand why radio presenters who have been on the local scene for decades would criticize musicians for not penetrating territories.
Sarkodie
“It is easy for somebody to sit on radio and tell you Shatta Wale no do this. You, you dey radio top for Ghana for close to 20 years wey you no fit come enter Choice for here or BBC. I don’t think you have the moral right to talk about artiste wey e dey Ghana wey e no move. Because me I go BBC because it is Komla Dumor wey e make I go,” Sarkodie said.
The comment has since sparked controversy and backlash as some radio presenters say Sarkodie’s utterance is disrespectful. Renowned Ghanaian movie director and showbiz pundit, Socrates Safo, said the rapper lacks interviewing skills.
While describing Sarkodie as “one of our biggest artistes”, Socrate said Sarkodie must pay attention to his utterances and “repackage” himself in terms of interviews.
“At this point, I think he lacks one thing. One of the key things I taught artistes I groomed was interview skills. I read from a book that as an artiste, your interview skills are paramount because it can bring you down and it can also lift you high,” Socrate said.
Schooling Sarkodie, he explained that: “Every artiste should have a pack of answers for a pack of questions. We don’t graduate in radio as though you were in Division One and moved to Division Two. Getting to BBC or CNN as a Ghanaian radio presenter is not graduation but a movement from one sector to the other. It’s not a law; neither is it part of the system to reference in your submission that the person hasn’t improved.”
“When we say ‘go international’, it’s an expansion of market. It doesn’t mean if you’re in Ghana and hasn’t gone international you’re not good. Going international has many dynamics… You sat on local platforms to push your brand; out of this, you got certain links,” the filmmaker added.
Sarkodie is yet to respond to the controversy his comment has created as his name has remained on the trending lists across social media.