No other celebrity receives as much hate and bants on social media as Skales. The singer belongs in the same crop as Sean Tizzle who gets it hot with every utterance on Facebook.
Twice in his career, he has had to go through career-threatening situations, but he has stayed strong and continued to push. That’s admirable. Skales was out in the cold in 2014 after he was sent out by EME. 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 Pulse via a phone call.
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.
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.
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.”
In 2016, the rapper had to still go through another shakeup. The singer was detained together with his manager by the Police, following a petition made by his record label Baseline Music, accusing both parties of fraud. Skales and his manager Osagie Osarenkhoe are alleged to have failed to remit funds to the record label account, from several deals and performances involving Skales.
Parts of the petition reads: “The Company noticed that although Skales was listed as performing at various concerts, shows, tours and other events, none of the monies received from these events was remitted to the Company.”
“In this regard, the Company invited Skales and his manager Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe to various meetings seeking an account and a reconciliation. At these meetings, both Skales and his manager Teresa Osagioduwa Osarenkhoe insisted that the events in question were not paid events and as such there were no monies to remit.”
He lost his manager, but he kept pushing for new music. Skales signed a new deal with Paul Okoye’s outfit Upfront And Personal, and released the tropical ‘Nobody’s business’ featuring Banky W. Then came ‘Ajaga’, which featured Timaya and Davido.
Now he’s back with another one, ‘Temper’. The new song is produced by KrisBeatz, the man who has seen his profile rise due to his work on Tekno’s 2016 mega-hit, ‘Pana’.
Featuring mellow drum arrangements, and a vacant rhythm, Skales plays with the spaces on this song to provide a minimalist delivery backed by sneaking horns, and syncopation. Inspiration from this comes from root Afrobeat, with echoes of Wizkid’s ‘Ojuelegba’ mixed with ‘Pana’ on the instrumentation. This sonic overlap is what instantly opens up the listener to this one, and sinks in at first listen.
Skales might not have a brand that effectively connects with fans, but you can’t fault his work rate. 2016 has had him produce a single in every quarter, sign up with telco brand MTN, and gone about his business in a low-key manner which enables him to celebrate his wins without media interferences.
In many ways, ‘Temper’ is looking up to be another win, but it is Skales, who deserves all the plaudits for always dusting himself up and pushing through with music.