When brands and investors want to work with artistes, they go on social media to read comments “so I plead that we should be careful what we write about artistes on social media,” Odarky Andy of Mentor 1 fame has said.

The singer was speaking to Akua Sonto on Accra 100.5 FM’s midmorning programme, Ayekoo Ayekoo, Thursday, October 26, 2023.

He narrated a story about a man, he did not name, who expressed interest in signing him.

Prior to recording a song for him, “he did not know what I could do,” he said, adding he recorded several songs “and it was sent to him in London”.

Impressed by his demonstration of talent, Andy said the man said “he had already signed me but I should keep it a secret. He said he had seen my colleague singers were no match for me”

Andy added that he was told to keep the secret from his colleagues otherwise, “it would discourage them”.

“Sometime later, he called me saying he wanted to release my song on digital platforms, where the songs are streamed for money,” Odarky Andy said, noting he was not pleased “because we didn’t have a contract”.

He said he protested and requested to “take the contract to my lawyer and manger in Ghana”.

Andy said the man was not pleased by this: “He was angry and complained I behave like a know it all”.

After this incident, the man, he said, would not pick his calls, his colleagues would “go out for two days” and leave him behind. It became so serious, he feared he would be poisoned.

Eventually, Andy said, he informed the man of his intentions to leave Lagos and return to Ghana.

The man protested, saying he wanted to help Andy. According to Andy, this angered him because “you didn’t find me by the wayside. You saw my talent because of songs and videos online and expressed interest to work with me.

“It is business so let’s put it on paper and sign, but because he wanted to cheat me, he didn’t want to do it.”

Sometime after that, “we were taken to Fela’s Shrine,” Odarky Andy said, adding when he performed at the iconic venue, it blew people away including his colleagues, who, in his words, realised indeed they were no match for him.

“Hence, I told the man I didn’t understand that he wanted to do business with me but rather wanted me to think it was a philanthropic venture. If you do that, you’re being a cheat,” Andy said.

At this point, Odarky Andy said, he was shown what people were saying about him on social media.

He said: “They opened a laptop, they went on social media, and said: ‘Look, your own people, Ghanaians, look at the comments. They are saying your career is dead’. And it’s true they showed it to me.”

Andy bemoaned there were instances where he would release a song “the fellow would have nothing to say about the song but will write: ‘Oh, your career is dead’.

“Or there is a trending issue that you wade into.

“The moment they showed it to me, I knew there was trouble, and I told myself I was coming back to my Ghana. At least, I am Andy there. You people don’t even value me because of what you’ve seen on social media.”