Camidoh
Ghanaian singer, Camidoh, is pulling back the curtain on the harsh reality of making music in the country, describing it as a financially draining battle with little systemic support.
Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Camidoh recalled the early days of performing for meagre pay: “I remember we went for a performance and I was supposed to be paid several hundred cedis. There was even a foreign artist on the same stage. After I performed, I was told I’d receive GH¢700, and even that didn’t come. My management had to chase it, and the response was like, ‘Bro, it’s just GH¢700, stop calling me.
“I’m like, man, that’s what the artist is going to live on! Do you know what it costs just to get him there?”
Camidoh further lamented the lack of infrastructure for artistes in the country, saying, “There’s no system that helps artists. Where’s the funding? Where’s the government fund that says, ‘Come for a loan’ or ‘Do this and that’? There’s nothing that works when it comes to music. Even MUSIGA and the radio stations play our music without paying us.”
We can’t track our songs. Nothing works. The system really needs help.” Camidoh praised individuals stepping up to support the creative space, highlighting Sharaf Mahama’s work in boxing and Kennedy Osei Agyapong junior role in organising AfroFuture. “People would have those opportunities and do weird stuff. I’m proud of them,” he said.
He also empathised with fellow stars like Stonebwoy and Sarkodie, noting the financial strain: “Imagine receiving GH¢5,000 and that’s what you have for three months. How do you shoot music videos? How do you drop songs? DJs need to be paid, everybody needs to be paid. Some of us have kids. For women, it’s even tougher. Why wouldn’t they be pushed to the wall to have certain relationships just to fend for themselves?”
The ‘Sugarcane’ hitmaker stressed that creative’s deserve more respect, “Nobody has the moral right to criticize creatives in this country. We’re just trying, and what we do brings GDP. When our records go outside the country, it brings income. I can tell you the creatives have contributed more than half to drawing the diaspora back to Ghana, not the government.”
Camidoh added that, “I pray Ghana gets to the point where I don’t have to overwork myself, where my radio plays and music brings back money, and I can have a family and a life off the art I make. It’s difficult. It’s difficult.”
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke