Shako: Why I want to establish recording academy in South Sudan

Abraham Costa is a renowned South Sudanese music producer based in Juba. But if you want to find him, you better look for “Shako” as that is the name those he has worked with know. He speaks to Sarah Osman about the music production industry in South Sudan, explains why he has to juggle between music production and other related hustles, and why he is keen on setting up a music recording academy.

Sarah:  Tell us who Abraham Costa, aka Shako, is. 

Shako: I am a producer, not because I studied it in college, but because of the musical family background that I come from.

My father, who was also a musician, gave me the liberty to learn whatever I was interested in.

At 13, I knew how to play musical instruments like base, solo guitar rhythm, and the drums too. I then learnt the keyboard. He would actually back my father whenever he had a show. All these happened from 2003-to 2005, and after that, I had to go back to school in Uganda.

Then I had to pause on music a bit to focus on my studies, and as they say, the rest is history.

Sarah: What genre of music do you produce? 

Shako: I do not have a straight answer to that because versatility is my other name when it comes to music production. But mostly I focus on afro and hip-hop. A producer always ought to major in what they know best and leave the rest to others so my being flexible didn’t stop me but instead broadened my mind.

While at university, my brother and I were singers and in 2013 when I got done with my studies, my elder brother had become a producer in Khartoum and I got inspired by him and hence ended up learning production.

Sarah: Who are some of the musicians you have worked with?

Shako: In my line of production, I have worked with some of them such as Fille, Beenie Gunter, Dynamq and many South Sudanese artists.

I actually attended the same musical school with some of the biggest producers there like Nash Wonder, Andyman touch and Nesim and that was before Daddy Andre came to the music scene. When I came back to Juba, I took over Juba and Nash wonder took over Uganda in terms of production.

Sarah: How is your schedule like?

Shako: Nowadays I am not so much committed to music because of some other duties calling. Production doesn’t have enough money. One has to also do extra things to bag some cash and sustain it.

Sarah: Talking of inadequate cash flow, how much do you charge for audio production?

Shako:  I charge SSP40,000 only. But even with this, some people still complain that it’s too much.

Sarah: Still on the money issue, does the production business pay?

Shako: Yes it does. I don’t only engage in music audio production but also do commercials, movie sound tracks, basically it pays.

Sarah: What is one thing you hate about artists?

Shako: I will not say all of them, but I usually get disappointed by some musicians who show up late. And when they come, they want to take 4-5 hours when the agreement was just two hours or less.

Sarah: So how do you deal with stubborn musicians?

Shako: to be honest, I try to avoid them nowadays. You can’t give me money and give me hard time at the same time. I’m concentrating on upcoming artists more 

Sarah: Rumor has it those producers are money-minded. How true is it?

Shako: I don’t know about others, but in my case, I am not money minded. All I do is once I scout talent, I give it my best without expecting anything. This greatly builds and improves our music industry.

Sarah: Is there any forum bringing producers together?

Shako: We don’t have any. We have discussed it as producers but there was no response whatsoever I guess they are not interested.

Sarah: How do you juggle between work and family?

Shako: Everything has its own time. I make sure I have a balance between my work and family. Once it is family time, nothing interferes. I put everything to rest and focus on family.

Sarah: How would you describe the music of South Sudan music? Has there been improvement?

Shako: Our music has improved significantly. I think it’s because of the developments occasioned by criticisms taken positively and competition. There’s much work needed to be done by the artists’ union. For instance, the president is appointed and not elected by the artists themselves, which makes it hard for artists to share their grievances.

Sarah: What advice would you give an aspiring producer?

Shako: By the way, there are so many people whom I have inspired and I am planning on opening a music production academy. I am willing to set it up and teach them. Sometimes, sharing is caring. I am super proud of Zamba on the beats, Prince P, who passed through my hands and are doing well. I wrote a proposal to the French embassy and they warmly welcomed it and asked for the quotation that am yet to deliver.