In an interview on Daybreak Hitz with DJ Slim, Richie attributed the perceived “Lynx curse” to the challenges artistes face when they try to navigate the music business independently.

“Music business is hard. When an artiste leaves that setup and they are on their own, it is difficult. They are not cursed, it is difficult,” he clarified.

He emphasized that the success of Lynx Entertainment is a result of the collective effort of about 60 employees, who work tirelessly on various aspects of an artist’s project.

“We have a team that’s sitting there working on creatives, a team working on PR, a team working on your visuals. When you leave and you don’t have the power to employ as many people, then the work, the input is dropped drastically, so the output is also dropped,” he further noted.

Richie also cautioned against measuring success solely by numbers. He said sometimes the success of musicians’ enterprises should be measured by how much they invest in the work and the profit margins.

Lynx Entertainment has worked with musicians such as Eazzy, OJ Blaq, Asem, Ziggi, Kuami Eugene, St. Lennon, Kasar, and Maya Blu.

Currently, the label has KiDi, DJ Vyrusky, and DSL as its artistes.

Although the development is a bolt out of the blue, Maya Blu wouldn’t delve into specifics but instead emphasised she harbours no bitterness towards the label.

“It’s their label, and they can choose to take whatever decision that suits them,” she told Graphic Showbiz in an exclusive interview on Monday, November 25, 2024.

The Good Girl No Dey Pay singer was emphatic that her departure from the label was unexpected, as she had maintained a good rapport with management and saw no signs that could have necessitated such a move.

“My exit from Lynx came as a big shock because there was no disagreement or any hint whatsoever. But I am cool. I don’t have anything against their decision to let me go. We had an agreement, and so, if we have to part ways, I take that in good faith”, she said.

Her comments follow recent unconfirmed reports that Lynx Entertainment, one of Ghana’s leading record labels had dropped some of its signees, including Maya Blu, Saint Lennon and Kasar Music who formed part of the label’s new talents dubbed ‘BDSM’. Last year, they released a joint EP, Coming Soon.

Maya Blu, who has been steadily building her presence in Ghana’s music industry, revealed the decision to let her go was on her blind side, especially when she believed she was making strides under the label’s guidance.

When she was asked what she had been up to since her release by Lynx Entertainment, Maya Blu disclosed she was taking her time to chart a new path.

She hinted at ongoing projects, indicating her commitment to maintaining her artistic journey while she waited for the right opportunity.

“Right now, I have new projects I’m working on, and I’ll get them going until a good offer comes my way. I’m in no rush, so, I’m just chilling here and taking things slow. I’m recording a couple of songs and hopefully, I will be able to make something good very soon;’ she added.

Lynx Entertainment, founded by Richie Mensah about 15 years ago, is one of Ghana’s leading record labels and has been home to some of the nation’s biggest music acts, including Asem, Eazzy, MzVee, KiDi and Kuami Eugene.

Source: Graphic Online

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The news comes as a relief to fans and well-wishers who were deeply concerned about the artiste’s well-being following reports of collision with a tipper truck.

Kuami Eugene, known for his chart-topping hits and electrifying performances, sustained injuries along with one passenger during the incident.

A statement released by Lynx Entertainment reassured the public of Kuami Eugene’s condition, stating that he is responding well to treatment.

“We wish to inform the public that singer Kuami Eugene is alive and currently receiving treatment following a car crash on Sunday, March 17, 2024,” the statement read. “Our artiste sustained some injuries together with one passenger but currently responding to treatment.”

The statement also expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love and support from fans, media outlets, and the general public.

However, Lynx Entertainment emphasized the need for privacy and space for Kuami Eugene as he begins his recovery process.

“We appreciate the outpour of love from fans, media, and the general public, but we plead the artiste is given much space at this moment as he begins his recovery,” the statement concluded.

Nonetheless, Kuami Eugene, sustained injuries on Sunday night after ramming his car into a tipper truck. The accident occurred at CP, close to the DSTV office towards the Dzorwulu traffic light in Accra.

According to the Editor for Modern Ghana news portal, Emmanuel Ajarfor Abugri who was right behind the musician’s car when the accident happened around 11:30 pm, the tipper truck was in motion but moving slowly when the musician crashed into it from behind.

He believes the accident occurred because the N1 highway is dark due to poor lighting, while the tipper truck also lacked tail light worsening visibility.

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When Kuami Eugene announced Empire Records as his new family, after tweets which suggested he is fed up of his old team, tweeps concluded that he has parted ways with Lynx.

But a latest statement issued by the CEO, Richie Mensah, clarified the singer’s move is simply a path-breaking alliance, adding that he remains under the Lynx umbrella.

The deal with Empire Records is to work on Kuami Eugene’s project to cement his status as one of Ghana’s most commercially successful act.

The statement added that two labels have been working closely since 2021, but the official announcement was made barely a month ago.

The deal is aimed at projecting the one-time VGMA Artiste of the Year winner’s career through distributing, publishing and maximizing opportunities for him in the international market.

Eugene is one of the four Ghanaian artistes under Empire records. He joins Yaw Tog, KiDi and Black Sherif.

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Read attached statement below:

After 6 years of mentorship, 2 albums, international tours, 2020 VGMA Artiste of the Year award and a shelf full of other awards, Kuami Eugene is ready to move on.

He announced in a tweet he has joined other Ghanaian counterparts in Empire Africa label, an African extension of global record label Empire.

The announcement comes days after there were speculations of parting ways with Lynx Entertainment, hic current label.

However, his manager, Richie has debunked the claims, describing it as a mere unfounded rumour.

This was to counter a tweet, where Kuami stated he has had enough and he is more than determined to move on, adding that “the heart of man is wicked”.

Reacting to Eugene’s statements and calls on social media to bring clearance to the whole saga, Richie said the situation is more of mere speculations than the truth.

“I think sometimes the media shouldn’t give attention to every story. That’s why I don’t say anything because what you do is you are now fanning unnecessary fires. Because whatever I’m saying right now is going to be written about. A story which isn’t even relevant is going to be continued”.

It is currently yet-to-be-known if Kuami Eugene has parted ways with Lynx entirely or if he remains under both managements.

Empire Africa has also confirmed he has joined them as a new family member.

He becomes the fourth mainstream artiste to be welcomed to the label; he joins label mate, KiDi, Black Sherif and Yaw Tog.

The artiste, born Vera Hamenoo-Kpeda, says the fatigue surrounding the industry was too heavy for her to shoulder.

Speaking on E Vibes, the Natural Girl hitmaker detailed the reason for her move after seven years with the renowned record label.

“Like I said, even talking to you today, I told you how the switch from being who I was in my small home and coming into this big world of showbiz was draining. And so it got to a time, I was just tired. You know people change jobs, people go to different classrooms, people travel, people take vacations and it just got to a point that I was tired,” she told Becky.

MzVee added her past experiences and reoccurring issues caused her to go into a ‘deep dark place’.

“And like I said, growing up, I was very timid and I kept things to myself, I was afraid, so any problem I had with anyone, I kept it to myself.

“So I think it was issues stemming from a long time. It was just so much and as I was growing I came to understand certain things when I was younger. It just drained me so I went into this deep dark place, I left my record label, and I unfollowed so many people on social media, some might be watching. I am sorry, I unfollowed a lot of people when I came back I try following everyone back.”

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MzVee, who launched her solo career with her debut single ‘Borkor Borkor’, has five albums to her credit.

Her debut album Re-Veelation was released in 2014 and features collaborations with several artistes such as Stonebwoy, VIP, Shatta Wale, Richie Mensah, M.anifest and Didier Awadi.

Following the success of her debut album, MzVee released her second album titled Verified in November 2015.

The album earned MzVee seven nominations at the 2016 Ghana Music Awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the single ‘Abofra’ which features Efya.

Her highly anticipated third album DaaVee was released in May 2017.

In 2020 Mzvee released her inVeencible. The album featured Sarkodie, Mugeez, Efya, Medikal, Kelvyn Boy, Kojo Funds, as well as Nigeria’s Falz.

On June 24, 2022, MzVee released her fifth album, titled ’10 Thirty’ which she says marks new beginnings for her. E Vibes is on JoyNews this and every Saturday at 8:30 am. Viewers will get the chance to catch playbacks on Sundays at 10:30 am and Fridays at 6:30 pm.

On Joy Prime, E Vibes airs on Saturday, at 4 pm.

According to A Plus, he supports Kuami Eugene’s decision to leave if he has clear-cut plans to project his music career further, but also added that the Lynx signee should be careful too since it can equally dip his career.

A Plus’s advice follows MzVee’s decision to leave Lynx Entertainment record label to go solo as an artiste.

Fast-forward, she has since complained about how the industry doesn’t support the craft of female musicians in the music space.

But A Plus, speaking on UTV’s weekend show, said Kuami Eugene should be vigilant with regard to the rumours circulating because it is never easy being an independent artiste.

A Plus stressed that, the record label does tons of work for artistes signed onto the platform, hence exiting means the musician must start to do everything on their own.

“Kuami Eugene should be vigilant… Where he is, if he stays, it will help him. If he wants to leave, he should be careful that he has seen something ahead. I am not saying that one should stay somewhere forever. If he is contemplating, that is okay because I have heard some rumours.

“Wherever he wants to do, I support him. Wherever he wants to go, I’m okay. I have some intel that there is some uneasy calm with him and his record label. I know it’s a good move for everyone to aspire to go higher…,” he said.

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According to him, critics, who are attacking his artiste for allegedly disrespecting his colleague musician Guru, are wrong to do so.

Kuami Eugene was in the news after he granted an interview saying he wouldn’t feature Guru because the latter disrespected his boss, Mr Mensah.

However, Guru in a riposte told Kuami Eugene he wouldn’t be on top of his craft forever, hence he should respect elders in the game.

But, Mr Mensah has taken to his social media pages to explain himself.

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Read the full text below:

I normally stay quiet in most situations but this time I only feel it’s right I say something. Guru asked Lynx for a feature with either KiDi or Kuami Eugene, but the request was denied.

He then went from one media house to another insulting myself and other members of Lynx management, even to the extent of accusing us of sabotaging his career for the past 10 years.

He spun stories which implied we have some extreme power in the industry to vitiate someone’s career.

As usual my team and I stuck to our usual demeanour and stayed mute.

When Kuami Eugene was asked in an interview if he would feature Guru, he simply said he couldn’t because Guru had insulted me consistently, and it wouldn’t be right to do a feature with someone who was disrespecting his boss.

Let’s call a spade a spade. There was nothing disrespectful in what Eugene said. I’m a responsible leader, and I would have chastised my artiste if he spoke out of turn.

So my question is, those attacking Eugene for allegedly disrespecting his elder Guru, where were they when Guru was attacking myself and my reputation in a disrespectful manner?

We talk about unity in the industry and then we go around bringing each other down.

I personally have no problem with Guru. Never have and never will. I like to conserve my energy towards constant success and development than to waste my time on petty squabbling.

Guru is a natural hitmaker, and doesn’t need KiDi nor Kuami Eugene on his song to make a hit.

So there really should be no offence taken in any of this. So can we just drop all this ‘wahala’ and everyone go back to making hits for Ghana?