Born on April 1, 1991, Skales; a graduate of Office Management and Technology from Lead City University, parted ways with E.M.E Records in 2014 and floated his own label, OHK. He later signed a new mouth-watering deal with Baseline Records a few months after. He opened up to NET in this chat on why he titled his anticipating debut album, Man of the year and why Baseline Records is more beneficial compared to his time at EME and his past, present and future relationship with Wizkid…
You recently dropped a couple of singles this year. What’s next for you?
My album is the next project now. I might drop a single before the main album drops, but really, the way I made my album sound is kind of different. I made everything sound like singles, so it’s from a single to another single. How many songs do you have on the album? For now, we haven’t really decided, because we are still confused as to which song should be on the album and which song shouldn’t be on it. But for me, I’m looking at a total of 18 tracks.
Why is the album titled Man of the Year?
Well, I thought of that name because of my grass-to-grace story. A lot of people don’t really know my story and they don’t know my background, but I’ve always been focused. I came to Lagos without a plan and hustled real hard. I went for shows that I wasn’t invited to; a lot of people gave up on me and thought I wasn’t going to make it let alone make a hit song. But suddenly out of nowhere, the whole spotlight is back on me, and everybody is talking about me. I’m about to drop an album and people are waiting for it.Officially, when is the album supposed to drop?
Right now, the situation of the country, with the elections going back and forth, is playing a major role in fixing a release date. I cannot be specific as regards a date yet, but in a month or two it should be out.
Your next single features Davido; what’s the title?
(Smiles) It’s titled ‘Always Always’. That’s the single that will be dropping before the album. And of course, there’s a plan for an album release tour when the album drops. There’ll be an album concert as well. I can’t give too much details yet but you can be rest assured that anything I do now will simply be amazing.
Last year, you suddenly left E.M.E. What really went wrong?
The EME crew - Shaydee, Wizkd, Niyola, Skales, Banky W The EME crew – Shaydee, Wizkd, Niyola, Skales, Banky W Well, you know when something is not working you just have to move on to other things. So basically, it was just a mutual agreement that we had. We sat down, had a meeting, and decided that since it’s not working, it’s better to just go apart. There was no bad blood, and I’m still cool with everybody. Who knows, they might be on my album.
Did you have the meeting when your contract expired or before it expired?
Yeah, it was at a time when the contract was about to expire. So, it was your choice not to continue with the label? It was our choice as a label and for me as the artiste; we all agreed that the relationship wasn’t working, so we had to go our separate ways.
Since you left E.M.E, your kind of songs changed. Were you not allowed to do what you wanted while you were with E.M.E?
It’s always one thing when people want something for you, and you have something else in mind. That’s basically what happened.
A few months after you left E.M.E, you signed another deal with Baseline Records. What did they offer you that you didn’t have at E.M.E?
Apart from being an artiste, I also see myself as a businessman; any investment that is going to take my business to the next level is welcome. For me, I had just set up my own label OHK, and my whole mind-set was just all about the next level. Along the line, I met Baseline and the offer they gave me was really good. It was next level for me and I decided to flow with it. I run OHK Records with some partners that I can’t really mention now.
Talking about the Baseline offer, how many years deal did you sign with them? Reports also claim the offer was worth N200 million. Is this true?
(Smiles) I really don’t like to disclose details about my contract in public. When it’s done, you’ll surely hear about it. Then about the figures; I think it should add up to that figure if you add up the whole budget.
How will you compare your time at Baseline to your time back at E.M.E?
It’s better than E.M.E. I make decisions now, there’s more money, and it’s a better team. It’s obvious, and I’m sure you can tell the difference too.
So, it means you don’t regret leaving E.M.E?
No, I don’t regret it. It’s life; you just keep moving forward.
Despite leaving E.M.E, you still retained the same manager – Osagie. Why?
Well, that’s because we understand each other, and it’s really more than just business. We have a good relationship. We understand each other, listen to each other, and there’s respect.
How long has she been your manager?
I can’t place it; it’s probably been over 5 years.
Let’s talk about your recent Twitter spat with Wizkid; you guys were together at an event some hours before you went online. What really happened?
The truth is; we were not really together. We were just at the same venue at the same event that’s all. And really, whatever needs to be said now has already been said on Twitter, so you can pick everything there. Right now, I’ve put the whole episode behind me. I just want people to focus more on my music. It’s life; human beings must always fallout.Let’s go back to your time at E.M.E; what kind of relationship did you have with Wizkid?
We were just there, we were cool. For me, it was just about making music. That’s what brought us together in the first place. It’s not like we are from the same family, so let’s just focus on the music, which was what I did. If I have something on my mind, I always say it. At what point did you guys really fall out? We never really fell out; the relationship we had has always been about music. It’s not like we are brothers. We are not from the same family. Like I said, it was just business and music. So we were cool, and even till now we are still cool. I have no bad blood against him. I just want to face my music right now. I’m about to drop my album and that’s all that matters to me right now.
How long have you been trying to get Wizkid to work with you?
For as long as every other person has been trying I guess (laughs). We know that he’s a busy person and I’m a busy person too. I’m doing my own thing too. The truth is; I really don’t want to talk about it.
Will you consider working with Wizkid anytime soon?
I don’t know; fingers crossed.
You’ve been in a relationship for quite a while now, are you planning to get married soon?
To start with, I don’t have any child anywhere. I made sure of that. I’m still a child taking care of myself, so I’m not ready to take care of anybody yet. Of course, I’m a human being and I have a relationship.
Do you see yourself getting married to her when you are ready?
(Laughs) I don’t know; I’ve not thought about it yet. Maybe I should start thinking about it now. I’ve never really sat down to think about it.
You’ve been dating her for over two years; how did you meet her?
It all started out as friendship, we used to talk a lot, and we were cool with each other.What stood her out from your other female friends?
She’s a great person; she’s just someone that I can relate with. Like I said, she was my close friend. I tell her stuffs, she gives me advice, and of course, she’s my fan too, so she tells me when I’m making whack music.
How does she cope with your other female admirers?
Well, if you know me well, you’ll know that I’m not a public female kind of guy. Once I’m with one person, I don’t have time for anyone else, and that’s why you’ve not heard any ‘baby mama’ drama or scandal about me.
Do you have any female celebrity crush?
Right now, I don’t have any anymore because I’ve not thought about it. It used to be Beverly Naya, but I guess I’m over it now.
Back to your album; who are the artistes you featured on it?
I featured a lot of my friends and people that I’m currently feeling their music. I have Davido, Ice Prince, Phyno, Olamide, Reekado Banks and a couple more people on it. As regards producers; I worked with DJ Coublon, Jay Pizzle, Orbit, Drey, Spells and others.
How come there’s no one from E.M.E on it?
Well, that’s because I left E.M.E, and I started my music all over again. So, all the songs you’ll hear are new sounds, and of course, I’ve not been around E.M.E lately. I’m always around these other guys a lot. We meet at shows and stuffs. However, my album is not done yet though. I’ve been talking to Banky and who knows, it can still happen.
If you look at your career now, will you say you are fulfilled?
Honestly, I’m never satisfied. I’m a perfectionist, and I guess that’s one of the reasons why my album is not out yet. I’m always worried; always working, and I always want more. Honestly, I’m not where I’m supposed to be. That’s why I keep putting in more work.Yes, there was a time I was so confused, I didn’t know what I was doing in music anymore because I was trying to hit targets and I wasn’t getting it. I felt I wasn’t getting what I wanted. I thought of doing so many other things, but at the end of the day, it’s still back to doing music.
So if music didn’t work out, what else would you have done?
Well, there are so many things I can do. Don’t forget I have a degree, so I’m good to go....
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