Ghanaian singer/songwriter, Kuami Eugene has vehemently argued that contrary to popular belief, good music does not always have to be written in English.
He claims that many excellent tunes, particularly African music, are heard by uninitiated listeners.
In an interview with Rev. Erskine on Y107.9FM’s Myd Morning Show, Kuami stated;
“There are a lot of African music we don’t understand but still jam to, and I think music travels far regardless of that, so you have to perform excellent music and once it sounds good people jump on it.”
However, Kuami thinks that if a musician wants to succeed on the global stage, the language barrier can be a problem, even though that barrier can be a problem.
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“If you’re able to break through that barrier, then you can do the O2 arena and other places because those coming to watch you want to sing along, and if they don’t understand anything about the music it’s quite difficult,” he said.
Using Nigerians as an example, Kuami noted that the country’s music business benefits from the majority of its singers speaking English.
“The fact that they use a lot of pidgin in their music and because it’s English, people understand what’s being said. So, when it’s played somewhere, it doesn’t have to be explained because they can understand everything being said in the song,” he said.
Adding, Kuami explained that “it’s good but if you really want to get on the international market you have to do something they’ll understand and that means adding a little of what they can relate to.”