Creating Enabling Platforms for African Artistes to Realize their Dreams with Rozina Negusei

Watch this interview on The Voice of Africa TV

TVOA: Hello it’s your host, Kadmiel Van Der Puije and Welcome to TVOA TV, today We have a very special guest with us, Rozina Negusei, The President & CEO of Entreeg Records. Can you please tell us why you got started in this field?

Rozina:  I started in the entertainment industry as a testing director and then started producing music videos and when you do music videos with the record labels, you get to have a relationship with everyone in the label as well as the artist, their management, the PR. I saw a lot of female artists being taken advantage of so my main focus when I started Entreeg was to have a place for female artists without doing anything out of the norm just to showcase their talent. And then second, I wanted to bring the African sound, African music to the international market because I do have the leverage to send their music to the DJs and have a relationship with radio hosts. That’s the reason why I started Entreeg Records.

TVOA: Has the journey been fulfilling?

Rozina: The journey has been good. You get to meet a lot of people, you get to see a lot of countries, and you discover and make people’s dreams come true! I think my main focus is making someone successful. It’s like a baby, you go to the studio, you create and then you see this artist from the beginning and then you see them on the bigger scale living their dream. That’s like a dream come true for me.

TVOA: What has been your strategy to become a name to reckon in a space where Africans have not so much excelled on the global stage in terms of numbers?

Rozina: Well you have to work hard, you have to put a lot of time, you have to be in everybody’s face, and you can’t take no for an answer. Because what you do, a lot of people will see it and ask, Who did this? The material you put out will make you a household name.

TVOA: What is your ideal roadmap for anyone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Rozina: So basically what I always say to the artist is trust and believe in who you are and your craft. Take your craft so seriously, and be so hungry don’t take no for an answer, and knock every door if you have to. Get in everybody’s face. There is an artist, actually, I kept saying no to and finally gave him a chance just because he wouldn’t leave me alone after like eight years. So don’t take no for an answer and take your craft seriously and invest in yourself — not so much of money but time and energy. Use every platform to promote and put yourself out there whether it’s Facebook or Instagram. Then work every day, just stay in the studio, try to create something authentic, something different because everybody thinks this song sounds like Davido, or such and such, Akon. No, be who you are. Bring your sound and you will stay forever.

TVOA: That’s really great advice and I hope that anyone listening brings that to fruition. Tell us your thoughts about The Legacy Global Summit?

Rozina: When Dr. Remi reached out to me, I was ecstatic because this is something that we’ve been talking about for centuries because we definitely need to bridge the gap between Africa and the global market. Africa has so much to offer, not to mention history. It’s just not properly promoted and this is the beginning: bridging the gap with the African nation, the continent of Africa, with the rest of the globe. So that’s what she is doing. I am really excited and I’m so happy to be part of this movement because it’s going to open up a lot of doors, it’s going to open up a lot of opportunities for everyone.

TVOA: Well, yeah, I think that’s pretty much it. Thank you, Miss Rosina for taking time out of your day to talk with us.

Rozina: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.