Veteran Highlife performer Rex Omar has said that he has encouraged his kids to pursue careers in music.
He emphasized that the system has overlooked artists, preventing them from thriving on the global scene, and stated that his decision is a result of the experiences he had throughout his peak musical career.
On Thursday, June 20, Rex Omar said as much in an interview with 3FM Sunrise.
“The system has neglected the industry so much so that you can only get to a certain level, for you to cross and become a mainstream artiste you realised that there’s no support system,” he said.
In response to host Johnnie Hughes’ question on whether he would encourage any of his children to have careers in music, he said, “Never.” That explains why none of my kids enjoy music.
He continued: “I convinced them, I didn’t impose it on them. I told them the truth for them to believe that if you play around with music, music will disappoint you.”
Now a politician, the musician said that his father, who was a better musician than he was, had advised him to pursue music as a pastime rather than a job.
He claimed that his father gave this explanation because artists in Ghana are marginalized and not given much respect.
Rex Omar, who was driven and ardent about music, said that although he followed through on his musical career, he now regrets it because “his father was right.”
“I believe that my father was right that is why when I got to forty years, I decided to put music to the second burner and go into business and then also the administrative side of the music business.
Read also:FDA Alcohol Ad ban: I’m sure there were no consultations – George Quaye
“I am very disappointed and I will tell you one of the reasons why I got very disappointed.
“I believe that if there are ten people God has granted the gift of music, I’m one of them, I have not been able to come up with even ten percent of what has come up in me,
He related a terrible incident from his past that depressed him and most likely led to his departure from the music industry.
Rex Omar described how, when on tour with other international artists who were supported by their embassies, he was disappointed by Ghana’s embassies in certain nations.
He claimed that following the first tour, he was given the chance to go on a second, which met a similar end and, months after he returned from the tour, received scant assistance from the Ministry of Tourism.
