Why Older Artistes Are Like Old Trees - Sarz on the Beat

If you're an ardent listener of Nigerian music, then you have probably heard the tagline "Sarz on the Beat" on at least a couple of your favorite songs. Sarz whose real name is Osabuohien Osaretin is one of Nigeria's most popular and influential music producers. Sarz has worked with so many of Nigeria's greatest artistes including Wizkid, Naeto C, Banky W, Skales, Shank, Reminisce, Goldie, eLDee, Wande Coal, YQ, Niniola, and more.

Just like his industry colleague Don Jazzy, Sarz believes in working with emerging talent and has recently helped upcoming act Lojay get a smash hit in Mona Lisa, a song which now has over 7 million views on Youtube alone.

In a new interview with Pulse, Sarz was asked why he prefers to work with newer artistes as opposed to older, as well as his thoughts on artistes leaving producers who have helped their career. This is what Sarz said about both topics.

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During his interview with Pulse, one of the questions Sarz was asked was "How do you feel about artistes leaving their producers?" to which he answered:

To be honest I feel like the game is the game. Just know how to play it. It is hard to put emotions aside because as a creative, you put your all into it. You have to put your emotions and everything inside the music. So it’s hard to like separate emotions from the business. However, I feel like if you have something to bring to the table all the time, no one is going to leave you. They might go and try something else in that moment. But as human beings in general, we’re not really loyal people. I feel like loyalty is so hard for human beings. You might like a fashion brand and you wear their outfits a lot and one day something else might come out and you’re like, wow, I want to try this. You will try it and then maybe after a few months, you’re like okay I still like my brand and you go back to it. But if your brand is not valuable, you’ll probably just change it and wear something else. It’s normal. So I don’t think anyone should feel bad about someone leaving them. I think you as a human being are valuable and if they don’t see that, their loss.

On the topic of emerging artistes, Sarz was also asked, "What attracts you to emerging artistes?" to which he responded:

They give me creative freedom as opposed to established artistes that already have a style and are not willing to try new waters.

Then, Sarz was asked "Would you say older artistes are more stuck in their ways?" to which he responded saying:

Older artistes, well most of them are like old trees, they are hard to bend. Except the ones that are willing to try. I mean, for me, it’s not challenging, I love challenges and it’s not challenging to make same record I’ve done before just because you want to stay relevant. I want to try new things. I’m sure there are new ways, there are new boundaries to break. So it is easier with emerging artistes. With that said, I still work with renowned artistes. But for me, it’s just more challenging to do something like that.

Kai! In these fast-paced times and with all these newer artistes popping up left and right, it can't be easy to be an older artiste sha. The competition today no be here, talk more of the pressure to stay relevant. What do you think about Sarz' thoughts about older vs newer artistes? Let me know by leaving a comment on my Facebook post.

That's All.

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