RuffTown Records CEO Ricky Nana Agyeman, well known as Bullet, says the decision to begin signing and grooming artistes was partly influenced by challenges within his partnership with former Ruff N Smooth member Akhan.
Speaking on Angel FM in Kumasi, Bullet revealed that his long-standing ambition had always been to discover and develop young talent. However, he said frustrations surrounding his relationship with his former group mate pushed him to finally pursue that vision through his record label.
According to him, the desire to build artistes was never a sudden idea. Even during the peak of Ruff N Smooth, he frequently shared those aspirations with Akhan and surrounded himself with young talents he hoped to help break into the industry.
“I started signing artistes to my record label out of the frustration I had with my friend, Akhan. However, even when we were still the Ruff N Smooth group, I always told him I wanted to produce talents. I’ve always had young guys around me because it was my dream to help bring artistes up. But I became more motivated to sign artistes when I realised that Akan, my partner, had separated himself and was living abroad,” he said.
Bullet explained that Akhan’s move abroad and growing distance from the group reinforced his determination to focus on artiste management and talent development.
Addressing claims that his individual pursuits contributed to Ruff N Smooth’s breakup, Bullet rejected the suggestion and instead pointed to a proposal made by Akhan.
He recounted that his former partner had suggested they adopt a model similar to music duo R2Bees, where both members could pursue solo careers while remaining part of the group.
“I wouldn’t say I caused the group to split because he was the one who brought the idea that we should be like R2Bees, where both members of the group can go and do solo projects. But I told him no because R2Bees started as a movement that included Criss Waddle, D Cryme and others back in the day,” he stated.
Bullet said he was unconvinced the arrangement would work, insisting that success as a solo act would likely make it difficult for either member to return to the partnership.
“So I told him that if he went solo and became successful, I knew he wouldn’t want to come back again. I said he should just man up and admit that, at the point we had gotten to, he wanted to do something else, instead of trying to be smart by saying we should do solo projects before coming back together as a group again,” he added.
Ruff N Smooth, made up of Bullet and Clement Baffour, better known as Akhan, rose to national prominence in 2009 with their breakthrough hit, Swagger.
The duo went on to release a string of popular songs, including Beautiful, Sex Machine, Naija Baby, Azingele and Dance for Me.
Watch her statement below.
@qwadwo.vyrus “I started signing artists out of frustration I had with Akan, because he wanted us to be like R2Bees.” – Bullet says #rufftownrecordstotheworld #rufftownrecords #fyp ♬ original sound – Qwadwo Vyrus
