Highlife artiste, Anthony Kofi Owusu, has deplored the reluctance of experienced musicians to mentor up-and-coming ones through collaborations, a state of affairs he says does not augur well for the development of music in this country.
Known in music circles as Kay Wusu, the youngster is accusing older highlife musicians of not reaching out enough to their younger colleagues. He cited his frustration at being turned down on many occasions by experienced stars to feature on his songs.
“How do they expect us to take over from them when they refuse to work with us? I can easily feature a top hiplife artiste on my song but I find it extremely difficult to do same with any of our veteran highlife artistes.
“It is easier, for instance, to get Samini, Sarkodie or Shatta Wale to feature on your song but not Kojo Antwi, Amakye Dede or Daddy Lumba,” Kay Wusu told Showbiz in an interview last Monday.
The young man who is noted for his controversial Asore song, stated that the lack of opportunities for young musicians to tap into the experience of the more established ones results in the the young ones not being able to master their craft in highlife in order to carry on effectively from the older generation.
The situation, he pointed out, is the exact opposite among hiplife artistes, as cooperation is given real meaning through many collaborations.
“As old and good as Obrafour is, he still features alongside the new hiplife artistes and gives them an opportunity to also shine. It is difficult getting in touch with the highlife stars and even more difficult for them to grant you audience,” lamented Kay Wusu.
He said he approached three veteran musicians to work with him on his latest work and the reception was bad. According to him, he managed to give his song to two of them and they kept tossing him up and down for several months until he gave up.
“ I even followed up to their homes but that did not yield any results. They didn’t even listen to the song,” was his reply when this reporter suggested the song was probably not good enough for the old guards to even consider touching.
“So far as this problem pertains, hiplife and dancehall will continue to dominate highlife.”
After stirring up controversy last year with his 10-track album with Asore as the title track, Kay Wusu is back with a brand new song titled Odorkor under his Maddhaus entertainment label. It is a love song recorded by Dansoman-based engineer, Big Tyme.
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