Hate comments unhealthy for new acts— Article Wan

Although he made a big bang with his song, Solo in 2016, which enjoyed a lot of airplay, for Afro pop artiste, Article Wan, the fight to prove his worth as a talented artiste was great.

This is because, though people jammed to the song, which earned him two nominations at last year’s Ghana Music Awards, his capabilities were still doubted and his music was perceived as disposable.

According to Article Wan, it is disheartening for new artistes to hear negative comments while struggling to survive in a competitive industry.

Chatting with Showbiz on Tuesday, the Faya Burn Dem singer said people must appreciate diversity in music and support new artistes who chart different courses from what is in vogue.

“It is startling to know that new artistes doing something new are rather crucified because every artiste is expected to follow the trend. What is even more interesting is that while you are being condemned, the song will be making waves  because that is what the masses identify with.

“At a time when Solo was topping charts, I expected to hear encouraging comments as a young artiste but that was not to be. My music and skills were questioned and the judgement was that I had no future but here I am today still making songs that are getting almost 300,000 views on YouTube in less than a week,” he said.

His comments seem to make perceptions that the music industry is unfriendly to new artistes and the old student of Kinbu Secondary School says negative comments must not be encouraged.

“I ignored such damaging comments because I know my worth and potentials are better than many artistes. I didn’t care what people said as far as my fans loved and appreciated what I gave but can the same be said of other artistes?” he queried.

Citing the likes of Patapaa who he featured on his latest song, That Thing, to further his argument, the Elavanyo artiste said the One Corner hitmaker had become a subject of public ridicule even when he was making waves with his song beyond the shores of the country.

“From afar, I admired Patapaa for his talent even though his craft was disregarded. For some, he was another one time hit-maker who got into the system by luck but that isn’t true. He is full of potential and needs guidance and support.

“I always say that if I had the likes of Sarkodie or Shatta Wale on my music, my brand would have been bigger than it is now because sincerely, it is very tough to start and succeed on your own.

“ For instance, it took me seven years to finally breakthrough in 2016 after the many songs I released failed to fly. I will definitely not have been here if I didn’t have such a fighting spirit,” he said.

Article Wan, whose real name is Bright Homenya told Showbiz the need to support new talents was his motivation to collaborate with Patapaa on That Thing and he’s happy about the positive response so far.