Raoul John Njeng-Njeng, aka, Skales’ rise to prominence came with pain and hard work. The MTN ambassador, in this interview with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS, speaks on struggling to get an education, being without a father, why and how he was frustrated at Banky W’s EME, among others.
Is it true that you left rap music be- cause you could not make success of it?
The reason I switched my sound is because I travelled round the world and I saw that hip hop is not our culture. Our thing is more of afro beat, a sound the late Fela created. The travel experience opened my mind to many things and it has changed my style. Right now, I do more of happy music, a sound that changes the mood. You could play my music in parties and still have one or two messages. I even rapped in most of the hit songs I did in the past. I never left rap and I still compose rap songs as I speak to you. I am a businessman who is trying to make money so I do not see myself as a rapper alone; I see myself as a full musician. I make music and I write for people too.
How did you come about your new single, ‘Temper’?
Most songs I do not take seriously are often accepted by the public. When I recorded ‘Shake Body,’ I hated the song so bad. I appreciate DJ Kentuckey, who said if I do not drop the song, I was a fool. I planned to drop another song and my ex-manager, Osagie, had approved it also. But at my 22nd birthday party, I played ‘Shake Body’ and everyone liked it. I told them it was done by an artiste; I wanted to know their sincere views about the song. That was the defining moment for me.
For ‘Temper,’ I had an issue with my female friend and I started joking, singing “baby cool temper, baby no debate” And there was Fela’s song playing at the background. After releasing the song, many people reached out to me for a remix. But everyone knows that Burna Boy is my favourite artiste in N i – geria. I called and sent him the beat to create his part. But he did something else and insisted it should be left like that. He took it to another level that blew my mind and I did not care as well. He took it to the streets.
It seems you cannot stay away from controversies?
Everybody knows I am a very cool person. I just wake up and see stories I do not know about. There was a time I woke up and heard that a lady was pregnant for me. But the person did not show herself even when we sent out messages to the source. I was 16 years old when Banky W signed me and those days were like a learning curve for me. It was something that I was not ready for. I was just a talented boy that Banky tried to groom. I learnt most of the things I know now from him and I still learn from him. But like 2baba and MI said in a song, ‘if no one talks about you, then you are nobody,’ I am used to it now. I am, however, more careful of what I do. I am not an ordinary person again and whatever I do, people take note. Most people just like to have fun by attacking me on social media. I call it a compromised love. But it is good because it means that they have me in mind. I used to take things personal but I am growing every day.
Do you have a ‘baby mama’ like most of your colleagues?
No, I do not have any. I do not live a reckless life. I am a lover boy, I stick to a woman. But now, I am more focused on how to take my career to the next level.
How did your background influence what you do today?
People do not know that I came from a very humble background. My mother was a teacher, her salary was very poor. Basically, I struggled through education all my life. It got to a point I had to look for money to pay my school fees. My bursar, who is late now, was also helpful at a time because she felt I was intelligent and had a great future ahead of me. It is painful I never got the chance to say thank you. I am the only child and my mother is supportive of my music. She wanted me to go to school and get a degree. I did get two degrees; banking and finance from University of Jos, while I obtained another degree in business administration at Leads University, Ibadan.
Where is your father?
I do not know really. My father left us when I was 6, so it was basically my mother and I. I actually do not care if he reaches me or not because I am used to my mother playing his role. If he even comes now, it would be a weird situation for me and I do not want that.
I do not have anything against him. I have forgiven him; he only has to settle with my mother. I am a grown man now, and hopefully in the next 10 years, I would start my family too.
How did growing up without a father affect you?
There was a time I used to envy my friends, who had great and supportive fathers. I have cried many times. But my mother did a great job in ensuring that I had everything I needed. Even when people try to play fatherly figure in my life, it looks strange to me because I do not know how it feels like. Definitely, my mother is one of my biggest inspirations in life. She taught me that I should always provide and be there for my family when I grow up.
Could you recall some things you went through before stardom?
Like I said, my father left us when I was really young; I do not even know how he looks like. My mother and I were sleeping in a shopping complex at a time. I am talking about primary and secondary school days in Kaduna.
Then, the only hope for me was music. At some point, I told my mother I wanted to work and support her. I was chased out of school because I did not pay school fees. I had to steal uniforms because mine was bad and I would tell my mother I saved money for it.
Also, my mother would go to my friends’ houses to do their laundry, which was embarrassing to me. I had to deny my mother. I also did not let my friends know where I lived because most were children of politicians. When I told my mother I was moving to Lagos, she asked me to finish my university education in Kaduna. But I convinced her I could cope. From Kaduna to Lagos, I got a free ride and the first place I stayed was Orile. I lied to the person that gave me free ride that I would stay with him for a couple of days and it turned to months. He later started a label with some friends; they knew some people but it was not easy. I later met Banky W at a show at Silverbrid, Galleria, Lagos. Before the show, nobody knew me but I thrilled the audience. MI performed too.
At what point did you get signed up by EME?
I met Wizkid in a show too and we got talking, though we were not really friends. He then sent me a message that Banky saw me in a show and he would like to meet me. I told them that I did not have any money. They sent me some money and that was it. It took months for us to reach a conclusion. The agreement was that they would introduce me, but the main focus was Wizkid. I dropped a single but they couldn’t push it and people thought nothing was happening to me. I did a lot in Wizkid’s first album. I wrote a couple of songs and I never got credit for that. Things are fine now and we are all successful in different ways. If I could be signed by MTN twice, what else is success?
