The story of the 31-year old Raoul John Njeng-Njeng popularly known as Skales, is worth paying close attention to. He started writing rap songs in 2000 in Kaduna, prior to when he travelled to Jos between 2007 and 2008 to work with Jesse Jagz and Jeremiah Gyang. However, in 2008, he won the Zain Tru Search competition for the North Central region and went further to dish out his debut single “Must Shine,” which earned numerous radio airplays on Rhythm FM Lagos, Abuja, and Jos respectively.
In 2009, he signed a record deal with the now defunct Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E), where his career expanded and gained wide spread recognition and acclaim. In 2015, he released his career defining debut studio album “Man Of The Year,” launched his sophomore “The Never Say Never Guy” in 2017, as well as the follow up “Mr Love” LP in 2018. Skales had his moment tick until 2020 when he released the 7-track EP “Healing Process,” prior to when he dropped his most recent studio album “Sweet Distractions.”
According to Skales in an interview with Morebranches, “I named my EP “Healing Process” because I felt like it was a time I just had to put myself together, and just had to boost my confidence again,” He said. Adding that those times were challenging both mentally, emotionally and with the hard hitting pandemic and everything that was going on at the time. Skales admitted that 2020 was a part of his challenging moments both for his life and career although it was when he channeled his energy to make the extended play. Meanwhile, he has been sticking with the music and enjoying every process which unfolds and has given birth to his most recent LP “Sweet Distractions.”
Currently, he intends dishing out the deluxe version of the same album and with the fresh laced out remix of one record off the album “Say You Bad,” now features an old friend of his 1dabanton. Skales also affirms that for the deluxe version of “Sweet Distractions,” he has in stock a couple big guns to accompany the release as well as he continually looks toward the direction of upping his game and always refining what he often sounds like. However, for Skales’ Sweet Distractions, it’s like everything that wants to make him loose focus, with all the challenges which he faced he feels his now matured up in between. While, all the hurdles his gone through has as well put him on the pedestal to accept more growth and so forth.
Meanwhile, for 10-years, Skales had battled record label issues which negatively affected his music career, and now has lead to his current independent label imprints known as OHK Entertainment founded in 2014. Allowing him grow, develop his artillery and build extraordinary confidence as much as it lets him express and completely be himself in the game. In his words, “The major issues I’ve always had was, for like 10 years I had to battle different label issues, it was from one label to another, I was always battling label issue so, definitely I wasn’t free as an artiste to do what I really wanted to do,” He carefully stated explaining that, “You know, I was mis-understood, you get me, so many times but you know nobody really knows the challenges or what you are going through.”
Now, he is liberated and has full control of his creative freedom. However, every artiste has their creative process and for Skales’ during our brief interview he describes his saying that, “For me, I get into the studio, it could be maybe I heard a song from somewhere and I want to make a song that’s like that or a song that I wish was mine, I’ll just pick, take ideas from it, go work on it,” He explained further saying that, “Or, I would just get into the studio, always have like bunch of beats waiting for me in the studio, so, I go to the studio and turn the mic to record. I’ve never written a song, last time I wrote a song, I took a pen or probably wrote on my phone, that’s like probably six to seven years ago,” He recalled.
Moving further, Skales is more like a very creative artiste as he stated that when he hears a beat and then does say all his got to say either from his head or heart, whatever finish touches his got to do, he does it later on and that is exactly how he feels. He finally describes all this process as simple as he sniffes some air, I could hear it as he speaks launching on to talk about his previous 2015 banger “Shake Body,” and how passionate he has become with making the music over the years his spent. More recently, Skales has tied the knot and his idea about everything now is very different. Well, he now affirms to be more responsible for family regardless, he promises to have more in stock for his fans, including a deluxe version to his fourth studio album — Sweet Distractions, his ongoing Europe tour, and lots more in the work. While, some of his core believers are surrounded by him doing being himself and those that are for him would come nevertheless.
