British soul singer/songwriter OMAR has slammed the state of the UK music industry following the recent cull of a number of high profile British urban acts.
Talking to NME.COM this week, the star stormed: “Fuck what all these record company bods think! They’re all about, ‘You’ve gotta do it more like this, make it sound more like that.’ Fuck that! People think that ‘Best By Far’ is my second album. It’s my FIFTH album! So they think, ‘What happened with the other ones’?
“Well they didn’t get promoted properly! Record companies thought ‘It’s not what’s happening right now’, but record companies need to understand that they need to nurture artists. I mean those artists (that have been dropped) had bigger hits that I ever had and they’re still dropping them. It makes no sense to me.”
Omar also criticised the UK urban scene’s MOBO Awards, saying they favoured US acts rather than homegrown talent.
He railed: “The MOBO Awards need to sort out their camp, man. They’re taking care of the corporate people. No-one can get tickets for the MOBO Awards! There are loads of talented rappers in the UK who aren’t getting props and they give out hip-hop MOBOs to American artists. I give nuff respect to Eminem, but how many awards has he got? You don’t need to put him the same category as the people over here who need the publicity, who need the attention.”
And of his own profile, which he has maintained since his debut in 1987, Omar stated: “I went to France for one reason: because I have a big fanbase out there. I’ve sung with Stevie Wonder in France, but there’s no way any British TV station would get me singing with Stevie Wonder because they don’t think I’m that calibre of an artist… you’ve got to go where you’re respected. “
Meanwhile, Omar appears at the London Royal Albert Hall on November 19 with Lewis Taylor.
For the full interview with Omar, keep checking back with NME.COM as we’ll have it up shortly.