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Step 1: Be yourself (no matter how many versions of that there are) “with every Ria era, each of them comes from a place where I’ve personally also grown in certain ways”
Do you consider yourself a rock star?
Wow, what a really good question. Do I consider myself a rock star? I think if you had asked me this question, maybe two years ago, I might have actually said, “No, I don’t really consider myself a rock star.” I think in the last two years, with my performance, and getting more, I guess, familiar with [my stagecraft], I think Cat Mama is indeed a rock star. Who her persona is; that version of me, is definitely a rock star. With the album that I just finished working on, that’s going to come out next year, I really tapped into a certain, I like to feel, crazy Jimi Hendrix personality that comes out and wants to smash things. So, yes, I am absolutely a rock star. Get ready for the live shows. They’re about to be extra.
If I was to answer it myself, I would say definitely you are. It shows in the persona and how you engage your audience. How does this align with your personal style? How do you arrange your music, but also your personal fashion?
One thing I should say about my artist personality is that I’ve got different sides of myself, like alters… like multiple personality disorder, okay? There’s Ria, Ria Boss, obviously. Then there’s Cat Mama. Then there’s Hajia kitty, and then there’s Maria. And so, when I think about the style with regards to my music, Cat Mama is this soulful, sensual goddess who really is super confident and sure of herself.
That’s what I think comes across not only stagewise, but also in the music, especially the way we arranged the live music. It’s very reminiscent of old school blues, soul and funk. For me, the band and instrumentation is what really turns the persona up a notch because that really informs my mood on stage and might even inform what I decide to wear. There’s of course, Cat Mama who likes to wear these oversized, matching fits. Then there’s Hajia, who likes to be very naked. So then, depending on the mood of the experience I want to give, it’s sort of which alter takes the light.
Is Hajia going to come wearing a real slinky number and dancing on people, or is Ria going to come, you know, dressed in her Tribe of God fit with her Air Forces, because you never know. I can give you a whole bunch of different sides. These personas that I’ve given myself, help bring out a confidence where I think Maria tends to be quite shy and actually very introverted. These personas give me an ability to be more dramatic.
I love that. So do you find that you like to keep the audience guessing as to who they’re going to get at any given time?
Honestly, yes. Because, to be honest, depending on the gig. I actually don’t know until that day or maybe the day before who’s actually gonna take the stage. Is it going to be Ria? Depends on the mood.
How much does reinventing yourself you know, play a part in your music & your sound as an artist.
I wouldn’t say reinventing yourself plays a part in your music. In that, I think that with every Ria era, each of them comes from a place where I’ve personally also grown in certain ways, whether or not it’s in thetechnicality of music. When I put out the album, I think some people will notice that my vocal range has completely shifted. I’m able to sing certain notes that I wasn’t able to sing before or maybe I’m a bit more confident in my writing. That’s important for me, because it’s an indicator of my growth, and how far I’m personally going. With each reinvention, a new personality rears its head. So, even though each of these personas kind of helped me, in a way they are all me at the end of the day.
Step 2: Make love to the crowd
One thing I have never forgotten is this video, featuring you at a little lingerie slumber party and it is burned in my memory forever. Even then, you were kind of pushing boundaries, but I listened to that content and it’s a very different sound from what you do now. Now, there’s a lot of love in your content, you know? There’s definitely a lot of self awareness. It’s very important, especially if people are growing with you as well. In your conversations with your fans, do you find that they feel like they’re growing with you, as you are also growing through the sound?
This is such a good question. I tend to get in my feelings a lot, like maybe once a month. I have a crisis where I see [my old] music and I want to take it down. So, there was one time that I actually removed certain songs off my discography from my SoundCloud. A month or two later, I got a message from a fan: “Hey, so I’ve been going on your page. There’s this one song that was getting me through my depression and it seems you’ve taken it down. Is there any way you can send it to me?”. That particular song was one of the songs I had been sort of over because I just felt it didn’t show my vocal quality. But it was a song that resonated with someone somewhere, and it was helping them. I realized that, even as I’m working through life, people are also using my art to help them get through.
I owe it to myself to not be so hard on myself when it comes to my art because there’s always something for someone. I think that’s what I want my music to be; a reflection of familiar pains that we’re all feeling.
Some of our favorite artists are the ones that are basically taking us through life and showing that you’re not alone.
I think a lot of artists that I really aspire to, like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu or Jill Scott, you realize that they’re actually talking to you about their everyday qualms and issues, but in a very obviously poetic way. It’s just to remind us all that, hey chale, we’re all actually going through the same stuff, you know. I mean, I’m really here for party music because it helps me to take a break. I’ve had people ask me, why I wouldn’t venture into Afro beats, considering the region that we’re in. The same way people want to feel something, I’m offering the other side of the coin. I might not be giving you the serious dance jams, but I’m giving you the jams that’ll help you get through Sunday morning. After the jams, I’ll be here to wipe your back kakra.
Step 3: Build your team
“Anywhere can be a really good venue if you have a good sound guy.
I think investing in amazing sound here can make any venue pretty much top quality.”
Undoubtedly, the live music scene in Accra is you and everybody else. There are definitely different voices coming up, and I think that your presence is very encouraging of that. What do you enjoy the most about your live performances?
Hands down, I am absolutely at home when I’m performing with a full and live band. There’s something about being on stage with a bunch of amazing instrumentalists that’s just the most ex- citing thing ever, because you never really know what you’re gonna get. The energy of the evening is not even going to be the same as the rehearsal. You just catch a serious vibe with these players.
I’m somebody that prefers to perform live, be- cause there’s a certain quality that you can’t really get when it’s a prerecorded track, especially with the type of music that I make. Sometimes you can riff with the band, have the solos or get your background vocalists to do something crazy. There’s so much about that live experience that makes it that much more exciting for me.
I’m performing two gigs with my band that play for my album and the fact of the matter is that the Musical Lunatics are the best band in my craft for me, Ria. Anytime I get an opportunity to perform with them, I don’t even have to think be- cause we’ve rehearsed so many times that now it’s just about how are we going to give it to them this time? Like, what are we going to do? What magic am I going to pull out?
Also, the venue matters because it sometimes has a specific type of crowd. I like the Alley Bar/- Jamestown Coffee crowd. They always come through for a good time, ready to jam with you.
I really like The Woods’ crowd as well.
I really like doing big crowds because there’s something about them vibing with you that gives you so much vim. You feel completely unstoppable. I’m going to be performing new songs and I’m going to definitely try to smash something on stage.
That was actually my next question. What is your dream venue to perform in? How do you visualize your ultimate venue in Accra and worldwide?
I would say, because of the quality of sound, a dream venue in Accra is Alliance Française. They have impeccable sound and will work with you to make sure that the sound is phenomenal.
Anywhere can be a really good venue if you have a good sound guy. Investing in amazing sound here can make any venue pretty much top quality. If I want to think worldwide, I have a lot of festivals that I really want to play. To be able to fill up a space like the O2, in my lifetime would be epic. I’ve watched those Wizkid videos on repeat, praying alongside the videos. Just praying with it, you know, with my candles because that is such a beautiful experience. That would be the top. Madison Square Garden in New York is a close second to that kind of feeling.
Those videos give me chills.
It’s crazy. The best part about those videos is when you actually look at Wizkid. You can tell, as an artist, that there’s this smile on his face that’s just like “I cannot believe this.” I pray for that, for all amazing musicians.
Saying that making it in music and reaching a point where you can experience that is di cult, is an understatement. Doubly so in Ghana, be- cause we’re still trying to figure out what artists need, besides their talents, in order to reach the audiences that they deserve. What is the fuel in the engine? Everything is a headache, so what is it that keeps you pushing through?
This question is hard because, I won’t lie, I do have moments where it can be quite dimcult. Maybe I’m speaking more because of the region, the genre of music that I’ve decided to undertake and the fact that there aren’t really a lot of creative funds that can help with startup capital to do things of a grand nature when it comes to your creativity. A lot of the time, you’ll see that we’re doing a lot of things out of pocket, especially when you’re working independently especially when you’re working independently and don’t have a label. What that means is that a lot of the money that you’re using to sort of fuel that engine is coming from you, your gigs or a side job. You don’t have the luxury of completely focusing on your passion.
When it comes to that, we all have to check our privilege. I have to admit that my mom sometimes helps me financially when it comes to certain things in music. Not everybody has that luxury. Then, there’s a lot of disparity because some people have connections, somebody is speaking their name in a room or their family has given them some small block.
Either way, I think what keeps me going is my love for music. I don’t think there’s anything else that
I could possibly do. I have a lot of skills but this, for me, comes to me so naturally that I feel like I’d be doing myself a huge disservice if I didn’t see it through.
“That’s kind of what keeps me going. The love of music. The love for being able to pass down some of this information that I’m also learning.”
Step 4: Ride for others
Also, in doing this work, I’ve been able to partner with initiatives such as Black Girls Glow, which is a collaboration between women creatives. Through that I’ve also been able to teach songwriting courses, stage etiquette, and things like that. It allows me to mentor young women who want to be in the same position that I am. Though I still don’t feel like I’ve made it, the reality is that, for somebody who’s coming up behind me, I’m giving them the skills they might need to get to where I am. That’s kind of what keeps me going. The love of music. The love for being able to pass down some of this information that I’m also learning.
Step 5: Follow your passion
Also, it just makes me feel good. And I realized that the less time I spend on my purpose, or on my music, the more time I spend melancholic and in my head. I’m a Sag girl and a Libra rising too, so I don’t know. So many people around me and in my community see something in what I’m doing. That kind of helps, that people that I respect also think what I’m doing is pretty amazing and keep cheering me on.
Step 6: Community is key
Something that is actually surprising: When I reached out to certain people for features for the album, I was nervous because I don’t feel like I’m a huge household name.But the ways in which these people responded to me, made me realize I’ve been downplaying myself this whole time. People that I respect are more than happy, if not even excited, for me to reach out to them and are ready and willing to work. One of them in particular sent me the longest voice note, saying: “I’m so happy that you’re still doing this, because you’re one of the greats in this ecosystem.”, and I was blown away because, to me, he’s a pretty big deal. Little things like that remind me there’s a reason I’m doing it.
The imposter syndrome can be very real. Are there any artists to watch?
Oh, my goodness, there’s a number of them. I’m gonna shamelessly plug Black Girls Glow (BGG) because all of the women that come through the residency are always so amazing. The last album that we released with BGG, Fighting for Air, features four amazing women; Elodie Vannesa, Essilfie, who is an amazing singer, and Nana Yaa.
Baaba J is another young singer, who I think is such a refreshing new artist because she’s just carefree and you hear it in her music. It’s a young Ghanaian girl who’s just talking about her every day. She’s a tomboy. She talks about it in her music, and about people giving her grief. She gives me Khalid vibes; carefree, talking about my reality. I love her because I feel like I need that type of youthful, fun sound coming out of Ghana. The Super Jazz Club is also absolutely amazing. I’m always trying to talk about them and Tamiwaa who I freaking love, another amazing singer. In fact, I bow down to Titi Owusu. Her vocal quality is… I don’t have the words. Her voice is just the most powerful thing I’ve ever heard. She’s “big voice gang”, for sure. She was just featured on Bryan The Mensah’s album on a song called Until I See You, one of my favorites, sounding like what?! So, definitely, Titi Owusu is somebody that
I really enjoy.
Step 7: Celebrate Life and Love
“She used to be my playmate. She would literally watch Dexter’s Lab with me.”
To wrap up, what is your favorite holiday memory?
Oh, wow.. So my grandmother pretty much raised me with my mom. Christmas was always this super fun time where all the cousins came from all over the world to grandma’s house. They set up the tree downstairs by the dining table and chock it with mad gifts, including gifts for the dog, mind you.
My favorite memories were all of us on the morning of Christmas day. Nobody has showered and everybody just goes directly downstairs, including all the staff in the house. We sit and have a huge breakfast together as a family, unwrap all the gifts, and just kind of sit there till it’s lunchtime, basking in each other’s stench. That’s my favorite memory because I was always an only child and grandma always made it such that I never felt alone. She used to be my playmate. She would literally watch Dexter’s Lab with me. Apart from when I got a bit older and we used to go clubbing and wipe the floor in the morning, that’s my favorite memory.
