Nigerian music producer and artiste, Philkeyz has shared what he says is the major reason why Nigerian musicians are gaining global recognition.

According to him, the artistes making it possible are not succeeding because of the country, as most people may think, but because of their individual personalities.

Speaking with Roselyn Felli on Changes on Joy Prime, the ‘Nesesari’ hitmaker stated that individual musicians must cultivate a strong sense of drive in their craft and be persistent in chasing success.

This, he explained, helps them reach the greater heights they aspire to.

“It’s not about Nigeria-Ghana. It’s like an individual thing. You have to want it so bad that even when you fail, you’ll come back to the drawing board and strategise what you’re doing wrong from the other person who is doing same and selling out stadiums.”

He added that an artiste’s craft is like a company; therefore, if it is heading in the wrong direction, it needs to be restructured. This makes success more a result of individual hard work than of the country.

“Let me give you an example, Akon is African, he signed Lady Gaga for crying out loud and he’s huge worldwide. It’s a person thing and if you say I would be this person that I want to be, you’ll do it actually. So it’s not a thing of this artiste is bigger.”

Philkeyz further noted that Nigerians have a strong go-getter attitude and are always striving to win in every space they find themselves in, which is another reason many of them are successful.

According to him, there is intense competition among industry players in Nigeria, pushing every artiste to stand out and garner attention. He believes that if this approach is adopted in other African countries, it would help artistes achieve long-term success.

He urged Ghanaian musicians to stop rivaling Nigerian artistes and instead strive to reach the same heights, emphasizing that both countries’ music industries are performing well.

Over the past few years, several Nigerian artistes, including Wizkid, Davido, Asake, Burna Boy, Rema, and Tiwa Savage, have filled the The O2 Arena and received global recognition at the BET Awards and the Grammy Awards and other international award schemes.

This has mounted pressure on Ghana’s music industry, as some musicians feel challenged to achieve similar success for Ghana.