Three years after releasing his last album, Ajala, which included the award winning song Dida, one would expect that Rex Omar would be rocking the music scene by this time with yet another hit.

The diminutive musician is not in a hurry at all to string lyrics together to produce more music; he has rather taken up the plough and yoke to produce food instead. He decided to make the switch because he believes he might go bankrupt if he depended on music for a livelihood.

Talking to Graphic Showbiz, Rex Omar, born Rex Owusu Marfo said “I don’t want to die a pauper. I should have been successful by now but it is not so. I have invested my everything—my life, family, money but I cannot say the returns have been worth the investment".

"I have been in the music industry for the past 20 years and the economic gains has been discouraging. I have analysed it and realised I have lost a lot and if I am not careful, I will die a poor man”.

The 42-year-old artiste said his wake up call came five years ago when he saw the dangers and decided to do something about it. “I decided to go into agriculture because it is the most lucrative venture if done properly.

It is the bedrock of this nation. I am into crop farming, salt winning as well as adding value to farming in terms of packaging and exporting.

“Although I am still in the preparation state, I am comfortable with farming. There is a definite assurance and safety net when it comes to agriculture. These are however missing in the music industry”, he said.

He however goes on to say he is not giving up completely on music. “ I am still in the entertainment business and music forms a small part of it. My band, Nu-Ashanty is still in place and we will perform when we get international deals and local gigs if the money is good”, he added.

According to him a lot of money goes into the making of music. “It costs so much to come out with a good piece of work. If you add up the money you spend on studio fees, video clips, publicity on radio, TV and print media, cost of production, marketing among others, it runs into so many millions and millions of cedis and yet you get nothing back at the end of the day.

“I know this is hard to believe because you are perceived to be rich if you are a hit maker but I am afraid that doesn’t reflect commercially. It doesn’t translate to economic gains".

"I speak for myself but I am sure if other artistes will be very honest, they will corroborate my assertions. You hardly get back what you put in. The music industry in Ghana is not commercially viable. We just keep up appearances because we are stars but we are suffering,” he added.

Touching on why he waited this long when he had been making loss all this while, Rex who has 15 albums to his credit said “ music is my passion and you know it is very difficult to separate your passion from your life. I have watched my money go down the drain over the years. The time has come when I can no longer continue to think that I can make my livelihood from music.”

He however admits quickly that music has brought him fame which when used positively will take him places. “Don’t get me wrong, I have made some gains as a musician. It opens doors which otherwise I wouldn’t be able to pass through if I were not a musician. I am proud to be a musician. I would want to be remembered as one but I ever regret being a Ghanaian musician.”