All songs can’t be evergreen — Samklef

A music producer and singer, Samuel Oguachuba, aka Samklef, is of the opinion that not all songs have to address issues.

In an interview with Sunday Scoop, he said, “Music is a universal language, and I believe that not all songs can be evergreen. Some songs are made to address situations, while some are solely for entertainment purposes. Once in a while, some artistes would ‘catch a vibe’ and make music that would last, even after they are no longer alive. However, I do not believe that the days of good music and evergreen songs are gone. Artistes just need to calm down, and not be pressured to churn out trendy songs and make fast money. Some songs don’t even last for more than three months.”

Asked about the inspiration behind his new song, Give Thanks, on which he featured Victor AD, he said, “The song had been made for a while, but I am just releasing it now because it speaks to the current situation of things. It might not be the most commercially successful song, but it speaks; and I hope the people that need the message will listen to it.”

Samklef added that the biggest challenge facing Nigerian music producers was the quest to be heard and seen. He said, “Humans face many challenges, and producers are not left out. Professionally, I would say the quest to be heard and seen is the biggest challenge of producers. Before now, producers were just heard. Now, many producers are crossing over to make their own music, become stars and get more money. Staying relevant is another major challenge for producers.”

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On what could be done to sustain the global momentum afrobeats was getting, he said, “It is important to have sincerity of purpose in whatever one does. With the relevance and momentum afrobeats has now, we (entertainers) need to ask ourselves what we did for it to hit the mainstream. Thereafter, we can do more of what is working, stop what is not working and start what we think can work. Otherwise, we won’t be able to sustain the buzz, or some people could adopt the sound and hijack it from us .If that happens, people will even forget where afrobeats originated from.”