Why I prefer to sing love songs – Ric Hassani

Weekend Magazine: With two of your latest tracks this year, ‘Marry You’ and ‘Only You’, you seem to be keeping pace with love songs. What propels you? Ric Hassani: I’m very inspired by love, by everything, but mostly Love. I grew up listening to a lot of love songs. Growing up in the 90s, the […]

Weekend Magazine: With two of your latest tracks this year, ‘Marry You’ and ‘Only You’, you seem to be keeping pace with love songs. What propels you?

Ric Hassani: I’m very inspired by love, by everything, but mostly Love. I grew up listening to a lot of love songs. Growing up in the 90s, the hit songs then were love songs because R&B was the biggest genre at the time, from Boys II Men to the Whitney’s and Mariah Careys, and soon after there was Backstreet Boys, Westlife, and Craig David. That was the era I grew up in and then was when I fell in love with music. Also, on the Nigerian scene there were songs like ‘Olufunmi’ of Style Plus, ‘Angel of my life’ by Paul Play. Those were big songs then and the lyrics were great, meaningful and timeless. I feel like those were really great times where music was really big, so I always try to take people back there, back to the kind of sounds that made me fall in love with music.

WM: How have your recent songs been received so far?

Hassani: Really well so far, somewhat to my surprise to be honest, because these days the music is so different I had expected that majority of people will only continue to listen to what they are used to.

WM: How would you describe your kind of music?

Hassani: My style is Pop-African, world Pop Music with an African base.

WM: So you were certain from the onset about the kind of music you wanted to create?

Hassani: Definitely not, normally it takes an artiste a while to really arrive at his or her sound but I was certain about the message maybe, but just not the way it would sound until I think about two years ago.

WM: How did music begin for you, generally?

Hassani: I was seven years old and singing soprano in a Classical choir, that’s how I began, but professionally as a musician I started December 2012. I finished my master’s degree and decided I would go do what I have always thought about doing, which is being an artiste. So I finished my master’s, put together some money, released a single and a video, and started doing it professionally and as a full time musician.

WM: What was your first experience on stage like?

Hassani: It was horrible (laughter). I got booed off the stage. I was a rapper that time in my think first year in university. It was a social night for the whole school. It was so bad when we got back to the hostel my roommates wouldn’t let me in the room.

WM: How would you say the Nigerian music industry has evolved so far? Do you thing upcoming artists are having it easy now compared to way back?

Hassani: Upcoming artists definitely have it way harder, and it even continues to get harder by the day because the industry has now grown so much and so fast. Everybody is investing and trying to make it just as much as or even more than the next person. So the competition is much now because the industry is a lot bigger and there are now more possibilities than before. 

WM: Do you shoot your videos in Nigeria?

Hassani: Two of my videos have been shot here but I have shot one in Cameroon and another in Ghana. I personally don’t have a restriction. It just depends on where I have the best location to truly sell the song. It could be anywhere in the world. It’s about the song really and for the message you want to pass across to your fans and viewers.

WM: Recently, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said artists should shoot their videos within Nigeria. What’s your take on that?

Hassani: Very respectfully I don’t quite connect with the thought behind this, to be honest. I don’t even think this has anything to do with anything. Asides the fact that I truly feel our country has bigger problems that we can really put our energy to, where I shoot my video, like I said previously is just about where best I feel serves the message of the video. If I wrote a song titled ‘New York’, it will only be right to shoot the video in New York. So it really is just dependent on the message you are trying to pass. For example I have a song called ‘Gentleman’. In the video I wanted to shed light on domestic violence against women in Nigerian homes because I actually have a friend who is going through the same thing. So I shot the video in a Nigerian home because that’s what I wanted my audience to see. For another song, I was out in Cameroon for a few days performing, so I decided to shoot the video there. For this reason, it had that Cameroonian and francophone dance in it because that was how the song sounded. I can’t speak for other artistes, but from my view point, a video’s location is completely dependent on the message you are trying to pass in your song.

WM: If you were to shoot a music video anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?

Hassani: It’s Malawi. It’s a beautiful and humble place.

WM: Which of your songs would you describe as the most successful so far and why?

Hassani: I would say my song ‘Gentleman’. I think people really connected the most to that song because of the message and the video, aside from the fact it’s a nice song to listen to.

WM: What was your worst experience as a singer, ever?

Hassani: It was a sound check at a big event last year. I was rehearsing in the venue before the show and so nervous because the sponsors of the event were there and I was trying to impress so bad that my voice just gave out and sounded terrible. But I performed well at the actual event.

WM: You have an album ‘The African Gentleman’ due to be released later this year. What should your fans expect?

Hassani: I have been preparing for it for a while and can’t wait for my fans to listen to it. I know they know that I wouldn’t let them down.

WM: Which foreign artist are you most interested in collaborating with and why?

Hassani: I would like to work with Drake or Rihanna. That will be really nice and I would like to see how it goes, particularly with Drake. He is very talented.

WM: What do you do when you are not doing anything music related?

Hassani: I watch a lot of TV series, and read mostly inspirational books.

WM: How do you relax?

Hassani: I like to watch movies and also sleep.