Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie has expressed gratitude to Obrafour, describing his collaboration with the legendary rapper as a defining moment that gave him a stamp of approval in the music industry.

Speaking to Doreen Avio and Kwame Dadzie on Daybreak Hitz, Sarkodie reflected on the importance of established artistes discovering and supporting new talent, naming Obrafour as a key figure who played that role in his early career. He stressed the need for similar practices to be encouraged across the industry to promote young and promising artistes.

“When I was coming up, I needed people because co-signs could make a lot for you. Obrafour did his song with me, and of course, I was building up my following, but that gave me a stamp. You have somebody that people really respect, and that person says this is the next person or this is the person I endorse. It did a lot for me and I know what that does for a lot of people,” he said on Hitz FM.

The rapper added that recognising and supporting artistic effort is deeply fulfilling for him, especially when he sees talent translate into real-life success.

“I genuinely find joy in seeing people survive and make it. It’s a beautiful thing because I’ve tasted it and I can only imagine when everybody can feel the same way that I felt, from the streets and then you get a chance to have your song being played on the radio, you travel, win awards, I think it’s that you dreamt and you start to live it and you want everyone to experience that.”

“If you have the talent that I feel has to be heard, I have a soft spot for that talent. I just want people to be able to hear it and I don’t think they should go to waste so just seeing them do amazing things like this, trust me, is fulfilling,” he added.

Touching on generational differences in music production and promotion, Sarkodie called for a balanced approach, while emphasising the importance of social media in the current era.

“Generations are different because we come from a generation where you have to really do a lot of ground work but it’s a different era now with lots of social media. There is the bad side and the good side to it and I think we all learn from each other.”

“When I meet the young ones and they tell me how they promote their music, I sometimes bring that into my era because we grew up doing dance challenges, but they too have to understand that we came from an era where you have to do the ground work so that your foundation will be way stronger. It’s a good blend, and I always wish the best for them. I don’t want them to taste it and go back to what it was,” he said.

Sarkodie also admonished upcoming artistes to remain tenacious despite failure, while holding on to determination and hope for a better future for themselves and Ghana.

“I want them to keep doing what they are doing, but they are going to do amazing. The best out of Ghana is yet to come. What we have been waiting for is going to happen huge, and it’s just a matter of time.”

“It’s already happening, and it’s always going to get better. People will learn from the generation they came to meet did, and then better on that, so just a matter of time and we’re already doing amazing,” he stated.