YAOUNDE--Known for his great voice and moving lyric, Richard Kings, is already a celebrated artiste in Cameroon. A Baptist, Kings exudes a deep sense of spirituality and humility. His involvement in charity shows another side of the stage performer. In this frank conversation with Standard Tribune, Kings reveals some of his biggest insecurities – his perpetual search for identity and the absence of any organisation around what he calls the Richard Kings brand.

Your last performance was during the visit of the PM to the North West. Tell us about that performance.

It was a very humbling experience. I was honoured to have been part of the official programme and the cultural jamboree that was organised by the ministry of culture later in the evening. I felt a sense of belonging, knowing that this was happening and that I was part of it.

Your last performance was during the visit of the PM to the North West. Tell us about that performance.

It was a very humbling experience. I was honoured to have been part of the official programme and the cultural jamboree that was organised by the ministry of culture later in the evening. I felt a sense of belonging, knowing that this was happening and that I was part of it.

You held everyone spellbound with the song Precepts of a New Dawn, was that the first time you were performing that song?

I wrote that song specifically for that event. When I was told that the prime minister was going to visit Bamenda, I said there should be something – a new way of doing things – which I can help promote through music.

I use music as a social science, to reconcile people, to promote tolerance, charity and humility and stuff.  Precept of a New Dawn could be a fleet of new concepts, new ways of doing politics, of communicating, of socialising and of seeing one another; a new dawn of reviving hope in ourselves and knowing that we belong.

What did the song say, specifically?

It talked about a beacon of light from humble slopes of a little known village, but that beacon of light is able to shine past political, intellectual and social boundaries. The specific thing there was “Yes, we can”.

What inspired that song?

I knew Philemon Yang as a father – not just as a Baptist, but as a father – way back from when I was a kid. I know a lot of things about him. So, that song was really personal and I wanted to share it with everyone that was there.

You have two albums that have both been hits. Why isn’t there a third or a fourth?

The first album was out in 2001 and the second was out in 2005. I did a third album and gave it out for charity. I am a member of the Naples Valley Rotary Club in the USA, which is involved in humanitarian work in Kumbo. Right now they are building health centre near my home village. I sang in the USA at functions and fundraisers as a way of identifying with the projects they were doing in Cameroon. I recorded that album and gave it over for them to use to generate money. After one year, which is in about three month’s time, I will regain the author’s rights.  That is when we are going to make it available here.

In the meantime I try to get involved in international festivals both personally and through events organised by the ministry of culture, so that I can stay active.

What pushes you to get involved in charity?

I feel very blessed to have the kind of talent that I have. Also, it has never been about money. When I sang in my dad’s house, in my room, I did it for the joy of it. I did it to liberate myself, face my fears, face my angers, to face my happiness and so on. Charity to me is like adding more to the spiritual strength that I have. If you give, it comes back to you two folds.

Where do you place yourself: a budding artiste or a celebrated one?

I am still just starting. It has been a while, but I think we can take it further. I try to make my music a kind of infotainment and edutainment, so that it does not become the bling bling that would come and go in two or three months. I wish that the songs I sing can stand the test of time. I am not really hot by my image being on TV but I wish my voice, the song and the spiritual content of the song could stay there.

How many songs have you written?

The first CD had eight songs, the second had 13 and the third had 15. That is about 35 songs, plus many others that are just lying there, waiting to be produced.

What is peculiar about the third album, which Cameroonians are still to discover?

It is called Elemental. In the album, I use natural phenomena like rain, sunshine, darkness, light and transpose those energies into song. The album is very spiritual. You can feel the valleys in Kumbo, here the sound of a chain saw in the scorching heat of the dry season.

What do you sing about, generally?

Existential: topics like death, life, faith, hope, joy, sorrow, God... In my music I try as much as can to face success, failure, joy, wealth...

Why do you sing?

It liberates me. I love singing. I just love it. It is my identity. The song gave me a name, confidence, hope, love, some money... Music is everything to me.

What is you biggest challenge at this point in your career?

I need an organisation around me. By that I mean a manager, someone who can understand what I am doing and take it further. I can sing the songs but I really cannot market or promote the songs. I admit that the organisation that is needed around the Richard Kings brand is really not there. Unfortunately I lost a friend who was helping me in this - may his soul rest in peace.

What makes your music different?

I guess it is the persistent search for my identity. There are a lot of things that have happened and that are still happening in my life that are hard to explain in words.

When you are not doping music, what are you doing?

I do some teaching. I teach kids during the holiday. We have a programme called story time at the British council and I facilitate the music component of it. I also run a small business. I am also involved with a cardiac centre back home and I spend about a quarter of my time generating money for the centre.

If you did not sing, what would you have become?

Honestly I would have become a pastor. I don’t know where that came from – but I know I would have become a pastor. Maybe I would also have become a football player. I used to play football.

What is the one moment that you would always cherish so far in your career?

I love it, the day I was born. Secondly, the moment I received a phone call from the ministry of culture while in the US that I was needed back home because it seemed like certain things were ripe for what I was dreaming about. I felt very elated. That is why I returned from the States, ready to work hard and to be useful.

Cameroon music used to be very popular, especially in West and Central Africa. That is not the case today. In your opinion, what happened?

The problem is the organisation around the music. We do not have a stable structure for music production, promotion and distribution. Tribal and political colour given to our music also ended up destroying it.  Thirdly, the music industry in Cameron is aimed at making money and not celebrating a culture.

There are many talented Cameroonians who can represent the country in the global music arena but the structures that can help sustain these individuals are not there. People like Richard Bona, Henri Dikonge all end up being discovered in the Diaspora and we only get to learn that they are Cameroonians.  It is at that time that we start identifying with them, because the others have identified with them. They made it outside and so they do not really have any reason to say I owe allegiance to the country.

Some of your songs have political themes. What do you think about politics?

Music to me is like a social science, used to bring people together. I have sung about planting seeds of love, tolerance and national integration for tomorrow to become a better place.

Politics to me is an ideology, and that ideology is not excluded from the social actor. With my music I have a social responsibility and I take that social responsibility more important that an ideological responsibility.

When I have to do an event-cut performance, I write the words considering the fact that I am part of that social grouping much more than an ideological grouping.

Do you think an artiste like you can play a role in a political process, like democracy, for example?

In a socially oriented and responsible way, yes. I felt very comfortable when I was told that there was going to be a cultural jamboree associated with the visit of the prime minister, who is not the prime minister of any political party. As a member of the civil society, I respect the institutions that be – political or judiciary.

How does someone become a Richard Kings?

Hard work, persistence and tenacity. Sometimes you walk very fine lines that would get you scared. You have to inject a huge dose of humility to your system very moment.  It is important to know that beyond every success there is another challenge, beyond every horizon there is another horizon.

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