Tino Foy, a jack and of course, master of many trades has extended some advise to budding artists seeking to make their voices heard. He has urged them to remain resilient and build a discography regardless of the hurdles they face.
The designer, writer, event organiser and artiste dropped the advice while speaking on a Twitter Space with Miss Gina Promote on October 9, as part of promotion for his recently released About Time EP.
“Sing until you cannot be denied. You cannot be good and get ignored forever,” he explained, urging young artistes to build value around themselves.
Despite the difficulty of cashing out from the art, Cameroonian Artistes, he said, have to work hard on their placement and value so as to benefit from brand deals, selling out shows and raising streaming numbers.
Do the work!
Much like the media, the entertainment sector, he remarked, remains very fragmented, leaving little or no room for landmark progress.
“There was an era when I felt like Jovi, Stanley Enow and Wax Dey could make it work but it’s past now,” he opined.
Surviving the fragmentation therefore, he suggested, would take more efforts on the part of upcoming artistes. This to him, among others requires honing the art and positioning themselves by creating impeccable value.
Another characteristic of some artistes which negatively impacts them in the long run, Tino stated, is the lack of perseverance and desire to work.
He revealed that he returned to Cameroon years back from the US with a meagre sum of 150,000 FCFA to start a life.
“I slept on my sister’s couch for two years. I came with nothing.”
What spurred him, he said, was the desire to make an impact and prove himself right. He explained: “I really wanted to be intentional with everything about music.”
Foy went on to execute multiple projects for which he is now famed, including the Discovery Show, Poise Social and the Oluwa Is Involved fashion brand.
With regards to his music path, he expressed willingness to work with the likes of Mic Monsta, Vernyuy Tina and other young acts such as Phido and Loïc Sumfor.
These, he describes as “people we can make good music together… That can approach music from the way I do”.
Giyo Ndzi
