Rapper Sarkodie has urged artistes to work hard to build their careers if they hope to stay longer in the music industry.

According to him, the easiest way to set foot in the industry is to have a hit song but the harder part sets in when it comes to maintaining relevance.

Sarkodie, who is set to release his new album dubbed ‘No Pressure’ on July 30, said a hit song cannot cement the career of a musician but rather hard work.

"You can have the hits but it secures nothing, you have to build it from ground up then you can have a solid fanbase… you have to do it little by little… I had to do lots of travelling when I was up-and-coming."

"Because of passion, I was doing the crowdsourcing and by the time I was on TV they felt like they were part of it," Sarkodie said on Kumasi-based Pure FM.

He added that, despite his popularity, he critiques himself, his works, how others will see him and how they will also receive his works.

"The easiest way is the hardest way. You can have a hit but you need to maintain. Just having hits doesn’t secure you being in the game for long…you need to know your power and hammer on it," the 'Lucky' hitmaker said.