Gospel musician Perez Musik has credited filmmaker Ivan Quarshie with influencing his creative outlook, editing skills and approach to work.

Speaking on The Career Trail on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, Perez Musik recalled that after leaving his job at GHOne TV to focus on music, he struggled to establish himself.

“I resigned to focus on music. But when I came back home, I hustled, still nothing was working,” he said.

He later received an opportunity to work as an editor for Farmhouse Productions.

However, Perez Musik said he soon realised that working a conventional nine-to-five job was not suited to him and resigned after three months.

“They put me on probation after three months. I'm like, ‘You know what? 9-5 is not my day. I cannot be waking up every day, coming to sit here.’ So I resigned,” he recalled.

He was subsequently retained on a contract basis, which created opportunities for him to work with Ivan Quarshie.

Perez Musik said Quarshie gave him opportunities to work on high-profile productions and helped him develop as a creative professional.

“I want to say a very big thank you to Ivan Quarshie. He also gave me opportunities. He gave me the opportunity to edit very, very high-profile work,” he said.

“He taught me a lot of things. Like, I got perspective from him, creative perspective. I learned that a lot from him and his work ethic,” he added.

Although he described Quarshie as demanding, Perez Musik said the experience helped him understand the standards required in the creative industry.

“You know, he can be very hard. But yet, you know, that is for the work. And I owe him that. I'll forever be grateful,” he said.

The contracts he received also provided him with income that enabled him to establish a barbershop.

“So then he was giving me, once in a while, contracts. I'll go and work some more. I even set up a barbershop from that income,” he disclosed.

For Perez Musik, his relationship with Quarshie provided more than employment. He said it gave him valuable exposure and helped shape his approach to creative work.