Language matters in music but the ‘spirit of the song’ is supreme - Perez Musik

Perez Musik has posited that what gives a song wide acceptance, bringing it to hit status, is not exactly the language but often it is “the spirit behind the song”.

The audible beauty of the song and its composition also, he added, matters.

The award-winning Ghanaian artiste, who prefers to write and perform mainly in Ga, said this guesting on Accra 100.5 FM’s Entertainment Capital, Saturday, September 16, 2023.

“It’s true that language aids understanding but I always say that one of the biggest songs in the world is Despacito, and that song is in Spanish,” he observed.

He told sit-in host Prince Benjamin (PB) that he does not “know the full meaning of that song but I love it”.

He intimated he used to play it often “because anytime I heard it, it induced a certain feeling, it tickled my ears, it gave me some excitement”.

The Gospel star, here, posited that “every song has a spirit and the spirit behind the song is what carries the song, and that’s what lifts the song”.

For a song to be widely accepted, “it’s not just lyrics” that matter, he noted.

The record producer and singer stressed that, while the language used to write a song may be unintelligible to a listener, “the spirit behind it” often makes it appealing.

Another important thing, he noted, is “when the song is musical – it makes musical sense – I mean, people listen to Jazz without lyrics but still there are very popular Jazz songs that people can identify”.

Noting that he does not want to confuse his following concerning the identity of the spirit that made his award-winning Hewale Lala (Song of Strength) resonate with the masses, he said: “It was the power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, that backed the song. I think that’s what made the song different from any other song I’ve worked on”.

Hewale Lala gave Perez Musik his inaugural Vodafone Ghana Music Awards this year; Male Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.