Nigerian singer has a lot to celebrate on his 25th birthday

Today makes it 789 days after the day when Skales was staring at the end of his contract with Empire Mates Entertainment. The singer was signed in 2010 on a four-year deal, which expired in 2014. All was bleak for the young man, as he reportedly moved into Timaya’s house.

“It was a bittersweet feeling, because I actually wanted it to happen, I wanted to make it happen, but at the same time I was comfortable there. Staying in your comfort zone for so long can only ruin you.” Skales told me via a phone call.

Going Solo

He lost his contract, but not his hope. Strapping on his hope-belt, he released the song ‘Shake Body’, and set about to grab hold of his career and set up a music business. He founded his personal record label, OHK Entertainment, with the help of his manager, Osagie Osarenkhoe. He further went on to sign producer Drey Beatz. Today, it also has the young talented singer, Attitude and the disc jockey DJ Spicy on her books.

“I wanted to be independent so bad. I wanted to do things on my own. I wanted to be in charge of my career. I wanted to take my career in my hands, hence the reason why I created my label.

“There’s no business that starts out big. You have to start from somewhere, start small, drop capital and suffer small before it works. Everything was all based on belief. I just believed that this is going to happen, going to work.”

‘Shake body’ was Skales’ launch pad as an independent singer. The mega hit song was continentally accepted, and propelled the singer to relevance. Such was the brilliance of the song that it became a certified party explosive. Even to this day, it still retains that power.

Baseline Music

Then came Baseline Music. The label led by industry veterans, Howie T and Dipo Abdul, launched into the market, and signed Saeon as her first artiste. Skales was up next, as he put pen to paper on a deal which was reportedly worth nearly N200 million. That deal came with perks which included a brand new car, a house, cash advance, and upkeep allowance, all summing up to about N200m. Skales was also given the freedom to run his label independently. All of these happened in July, a mere 5 months after he was cut loose by EME.

“The reason why I even signed with Baseline was because it was a bigger record label, and they were paying money. They wanted me to still be in charge of my career. That’s the deal I had with them, if not I wouldn’t have signed,” Skales reveals.

“It’s been normal, every normal business issues. There’s never gonna be smooth sailing for every business, there’s always gonna be constructive arguments, back and forth. But we are good, the label is still running, I’m doing my thing and living my own part of the contract until when it’s time."

With the comfort of these, Skales flourished in the studio, coming up with his debut album. A feat he couldn’t achieve after 4 years in EME. The album was released by Baseline on May 18, 2015. The LP received lukewarm reception by the critics, but was instrumental and commercially rewarding for the singer. More singles have been harvested from the album, which enabled the singer give a more enjoyable performance from his concerts.

Controversy

But all of these have not come without a price. The singer is constantly being barraged on Twitter, and has been the subject of a public fight with Wizkid. But he accepts that all of these are part of the game.

“I just feel that people always wanna talk about you, good or bad. Good or bad publicity is great for the business. I don’t bother about that, because definitely I just know it’s people that really like you, and they are looking for ways and attention. It just depends on the way you handle it. You handle it in a good way it turns out good. You handle it in a bad way, and you face the repercussions.”

Skale’s, born Raoul John Njeng-Njeng on April 1, 1991, is 25 years old today. He recently acquired a mansion in Lagos, and feels extremely grateful for the life he has lived.

“I’m grateful for life, I’m grateful for progress and success, I’m also grateful for how far I’ve come in the music industry. I came from nothing, knowing nobody, to being who I am, and being like a source of influence to many others.”

Watch Skales’ latest music video release titled ‘Want you’.