There is a new wave making record label in town. It’s made up of young, vibrant and incredibly creative minds and they are set to take over the Nigeria music industry. This steaming hot record label is called KOURAGEOUS ENTERTAINMENT WORLD WIDE. It is owned by the very beautiful Kizzy Ruth Hatcher, an African –American with a strong passion to empower talented African youths who are desirous of breaking the shackles of poverty with their God-given talents. Kizzy Ruth Hatcher, the brilliant and extremely down-to-earth CEO of the company says she believes it is Africa’s time to rule the world through music. Right now, Kourageous Entertainment Worldwide has signed a handful of artistes and has begun promotions of the artistes as well. It’s also making tremendous progress in the area of discovering fresh and raw talents that are ready to take the music industry by storm. The company has its head office in America, with strong presence in Nigeria, Uganda and Ghana. She has visited Ghana and now Nigeria. Uganda will be next.
In Nigeria Mr. Emmanuel Emeka Ahangba aka Tnaj is the record label’s Music Consultant. He is also a talented and fast rising gospel singer who has paid his dues. He is responsible for keeping all records relating to the company. He is the company’s graphic designer and he also organises media publicity for the company. He is an incredibly reliable and effective young man. You can give Tnaj a seemingly tough assignment and go to sleep because be rest assured he will deliver, no matter how challenging the task is. That is how dependable Tnaj is.
Moses Danjuma, aka Humble Gee, is the manager of the team. An underground rapper himself, he is very knowlegeable about music. He shares the same vision with Kizzy, the CEO and they have had an excellent working relationship so far. He describes her as a great visionary leader, an outstanding business woman, a fantastic mother and one with great passion for humanity. Moses is in charge of the management of the artistes on the stable. He discovers them, grooms them, ensures they are well prepared for their studio sessions and he helps them manage their lifestyles as well. “We are trying to mold hem into decent young artistes and also transform them into great business men and women,” he says. It’s also his responsibility to make available things the artiste needs to be at his or her creative best.
City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) had a chat with the company CEO, Kizzy Ruth Hatcher and the team. Below is Kizzy’s interview.
It’s so good to be talkjng to you, Kizzy, is this your first time in Nigeria?
Yes, it is my first time here and I must say Nigeria has got wonderful people, I just have to say that.
That’s good to know. The next question I would like to ask is, how come you still chose to come to Nigeria to do business despite all of the negative stuffs that you have heard about the country? What motivated you to come down here despite everything you must’ve heard?
What motivated me is that I have visited Ghana four times and I liked what I saw. And I have also known Moses, the manager, since 2018. I actually wanted to come down to Nigeria in 2020 but couldn’t due to the pandemic. It was such a dificult time for everyone but I thank God that I am finally able to come. Like I said, I visited Ghana four times so I believed coming here wouldn’t be such a problem though I believe you guys are a totally different country, but I believe coming here was important because you guys have such massive talents and opportunities here.
Alright, before we go into details of why you’re here and the progress you have been able to make, tell us a little bit about yourself. We know you’re an African American, but tell us how you got into music promotion and stuff?
(Laughs) Where do I start from? Okay, I got into the music business in 2018. I also spent quite some time in College doing music as well. Then, in 2018, my son got into the music business, he’s a rapper. Myself and a couple of guys supported him, did some promoting for him. I was also managing him. So, afterwards, I decided I was not going to manage him alone, I was going to get involved fully in entertainment and I wanted to have my own label. But you know, despite everything that’s going on in the United States, I decided to invest in Africa.
Let me quickly say this, when I first saw your face moments ago during the video call, you immediately reminded me of one of my best female singers ever, the late Donna Summer. I guess its also because you have the same kind of hairstyle she had in the video of her monster hit song, Unconditional Love…
Oh, wow! Really? I take that as a compliment. I loved Donna Summer too.
Alright, tell me, why didn’t you wait to work with a few more talents in the United States before taking that big leap to come to Africa? Don’t you feel it’s one risk too big to take at this time?
Well, I believe it’s the right time right now. Like I said, the United States has it’s own challenges with the musc industry. But basically, for me, coming to Africa is all about empowering the youths and humanity. Wherever I feel that I am needed then I will answer the call. This is really big and it’s challenging but I am willing to give this my all and I believe that we can really do things together.
Have you spotted a few talents here in Nigeria that you’re looking to work with sometime in the future?
Yeah, I have two artistes here already that I’m going to be shooting their videos. I have T-Kwamz and I also have Moses Humble G. I also have Tina Marshall. We’ve dropped her single and I promoted her last year. I also have two new talents. I signed my first gospel artiste, Mademoiselle in Abuja. She’s here as well. I also have Sabo Soul, he’s here as well. He’s from Abuja.
Who are some of the super stars here in Nigeria that you really have tremendous respect for their craft and for what they have accomnplished so far in the business?
Okay, I may not be calling these names the right way, I like Davido, I love Yemi Alade, Kizz Daniel, Burna Boy, so many of them, it’s a whole lot. I love Nigerian artistes, I really do.
You have been to Ghana a couple of times. Would you say Nigeria has an abundance of talents than you’ve seen in Ghana?
Oh, yes, I totally agree that Nigeria has much more talent. Maybe it’s probably because Nigeria has a much bigger population, I don’t know (laughs). But I also do love Ghanaian music. And they have such talented artistes as well. It’s coming up there as well, they are doing quite well. And I have three artistes there as well. I have a female artiste, Lady Donna, I did promotions for her last year. I also have VAB Nation, their single is coming out at the end of the month.
If I understand correctly how all of these would pan out, at some point, you will give these artistes some international exposure. It’s more like an international deal that you’re offering them because soon, you are likely to take these products to the United States and export them to the rest of the world, right?
Yes, I plan to do that. We were talking about that last night. A lot of paper work and stuff is involved in that, which I’m ready to do. And let me mention that I also have an artiste in Uganda, his name is Kuus Kuus Twilight.
Wow! This is a much bigger project than I thought. I’m sure that pretty soon, you will be spreading your tentacles to South Africa and other parts of the African continent. How do you hope to get the funding to do all of these because it’s really huge?
Oh, well, that’s not a challenge. Right at this point, I have multiple trades in the United States and that enables me to pick funds and put into this great label.
It’s a bold step you have taken, but trust me, if things go well the way they look to be going already, it’s a goldmine you have on your hands right there…
Thank you very much. But a lot of people don’t see that. They are always afraid to take this big step that I took. I was also afraid at first. And everything is happening so fast now. I can’t believe the progress we have made already. Everything is coming together.
So, who makes your meeting with the Nigerian artistes possible?
My manager, Moses, he links me up with all these people.
Tell us, who were some of your favourite American artistes back then?
Oh, of course, Whitney Houston comes first. I love New Edition, Michael Jackson, Patti Label, but now, Jenifer Hudson took over that, she’s really good. Bobby Brown, I love him too. We don’t have them like that anymore. But things are different now. The music is different.
So, how do you ensure your kind of music does not influence what comes out of your stable because you have to give to the young ones what they want as opposed to what you like?
Yeah, I understand what you’re trying to say. Like I said ealier, I’ve got kids who are into music and I’m learning a lot from them. I listen to them. I had to adjust. And believe it or not, a lot of people in America are starting to look at African music. I believe everything has it’s time, and right now is the time for Africa. I am so happy that African music is doing well, I am so proud of the culture.
So, you must feel like you’re back home, back to your roots, back to where it all started from …
Oh, yes, definitely. Being an American is a privilege to a certain degree. Yes, the opportunities are there, the economy is great, but at the end of the day, they always try to look at us in a certain way because of your skin colour. They still want to judge you, they still talk to you in ways that show thay still discrmiminate. So at the end of the day, you still feel it’s not entirely your place.
What are you hoping to have accomplished with this project in the next couple of years with a handful of Nigerian artistes on your stable?
I’m hoping to have accomplished a lot of things. I’m hoping to empower the youths, be able to create jobs, do a great deal for charity. There’s a whole lot I want to do because I’m here to stay. Unfortunately, a lot of people around my age are not even trying to help the youths. I’m hoping I can be that beacon of light to help them achieve what they want to be in life.And I’m just so blessed to have a great team that believes in me like I believe in them and we are going to do great things together.
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