D-Cryme to artists: Focus on timeless songs

Rapper D-Cryme has urged musicians to put more effort into their craft, warning artists against producing songs that quickly lose relevance.

In an interview on the Afternoon Show, D-Cryme recalled that during his early recording days in 2000, musicians had limited tools, unlike today, where artists have easy access to advanced technology such as smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI).

He encouraged musicians to focus on creating quality records that can remain relevant years after release.

“In the year 2000, we recorded on diskettes and DAT before, later, the hard drive came. DAT is like a small cassette, and sometimes you could lose everything on the diskette. Now, from that era until now, people can even record on their phones and do a whole production. There’s AI now too—you just give AI the headline and a few lyrics, and it composes everything for you. That era was when you could really spot great artists. Now, even a simple slogan can become a great banger. Things are easier, simpler, and more advanced. But most of these artists hardly put in the work for it to stand the test of time.”

The rapper described some current releases as “fast food music,” explaining that many songs gain attention briefly but fail to remain memorable.

“They call it fast food music. After three months, you don’t even think of it or feel like you want to buy it. If that is how production was done back then, we wouldn’t be talking about the timeless records of our legends like Kwadwo Antwi, Daddy Lumba, and Rex Omar. So when you’re doing a production, because you don’t know how long it will last or how it will stand the test of time, do it well from the production stage—so that in the next five, 10, or 20 years, you feel proud and say, ‘Wow, I really put in the pen and the work.”