HIPLIFE musician Okra Tom Dawidi has urged artistes in Ghana to do commercial songs in order to survive in the music industry.

According to him, without commercial songs a musician is likely to fade out of the system because the masses like those kinds of tracks.

“You cannot succeed in Ghana if you don’t do commercial songs. I know a lot of Ghanaian musicians who are doing great songs but because they are not commercial, they are not able to breakthrough.

"It will be difficult for acts such as Wiyaala, Gemini, Kumi Guitar and some very good musicians I know to break through in Ghana because they don’t do commercial songs. I personally respect and love Wiyaala but Ghana is yet to fully accept her music.

“Ghanaians like easy-going lyrics with very catchy choruses. For instance, Medikal will always be ahead of Strongman because he does commercial songs with very simple lines unlike Strongman who is a good rapper but mostly does hardcore rap,” Okra told Graphic Showbiz recently.  

Okra has been missing from the music scene for years and he says he is into other businesses but is planning to come back big time. He praised the likes of Sarkodie and Shatta Wale for holding the music industry down.

“It takes a genius like Shatta Wale to disappear after 10 years and come back and still make a hit. Also, 10 years of Sarkodie being in the rap game is a huge success Ghanaians should celebrate. The two have done extremely well," he said.

Asked whether he would want to do a collaboration with the top artistes to revive his career, Okra said he wouldn’t mind.

“If I need Kwesi Arthur, Medikal, King Promise or KiDi on a song there is nothing to be shy of, I will go to them. They are the ones Ghanaian are listening to and if you need some hype you need to roll with them,” he said.