Beware of fake mentors - Yaw Dhope to budding acts
It has become a sort of tradition for up and coming artistes to look up to older colleagues as mentors or for inspiration. Some even go as far as learning how to navigate their careers at the feet of these established artistes.
However, young rapper, Yaw Dhope, is warning his colleagues to be wary of the supposed “mentorship” which is dimming the potential of new acts.
In a phone conversation with Graphic Showbiz recently, the artiste, whose real name is Stanley Asiedu, said it had become necessary to bring this to public attention following many unpleasant situations he had witnessed.
According to him, some of these established artistes who up and coming artistes selected as their mentors were threatened by the huge talents of their mentees and, therefore, didn’t offer any meaningful guidance.
He acknowledged that even though there were good mentors who went all out to ensure the young artistes who looked up to them excelled, there were those who were clouded by envy.
“As there is light and darkness, good and bad so is there fake and genuine. So when I say there are some fake mentors, it is not because I want attention or I want to trend but it is a situation that is keeping many super talents away from the spotlight.
“I’ve been through that myself and I’ve had young acts who come to my studio to share their bitter experiences too. Frankly, many people would not want others to be better than them and it is not different in the music industry.
“So while we want people to be our mentors, we should also watch out for the fake ones who will rather use us, our works and continue to push us into the background. Those are the traits of fake mentors who should not be entertained,” he stated.
In his few years as a professional artiste, Yaw Dhope has a list of songs including Light and Darkness, Make Money, Ladance, Riches and Envy, Flow Unlocked, Devil Knock, Sorry For Left, Close To The Ground, One way Or The Other, Differences, Vis-a-Vis, Bad Mind Gee and Kwashieman to Labadi.
The rapper, who had his secondary school education at Abuakwa State College (Abusco) at Kyebi in the Eastern Region, said he recorded a major milestone in his career when he successfully held his maiden concert on Saturday, January 29 at GH Pub, Awoshie in Accra.
“My first milestone was when I set up my own studio in 2019 and now having a long-held wish come true just a few weeks ago when I got a crowd for my maiden show. It was an emotional moment for me seeing people come out to see me perform,” he said.
With the year already kicking off in earnest with some artistes already dropping fresh songs, Yaw Dhope mentioned that he would be dropping a new tune titled True Story featuring Kumerican artiste, Rap Fada, next week.
“True Story will prepare the way for the video of SIN, my biggest tune now and I intend to make the launch a big deal. I will have two premieres in Kumasi and Accra so I want my fans to watch out for it,” he added.
In his words, “the process to the top is hard and difficult to be accepted, especially when you don’t have a record label or professional management to handle you. You have to go through the mill and that is what I’m enduring now.
“Yes, the recognition is coming in bits but with my talent, I should have been far higher than where I am but I appreciate that what I’m going through will bring out the best of me”.