“Sugarcane Helped Us Pay Off Our Debts” — Camidoh Reflects on Struggles Before Breakthrough

Ghanaian singer Camidoh has opened up about the difficult period before his hit song Sugarcane changed his financial situation and career trajectory.

Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, the musician revealed that the success of Sugarcane helped him and his team settle debts after years of hustling to survive in the music industry. “To be honest, Sugarcane helped us pay off our debts,” Camidoh said during the interview.

The singer recounted taking on several side jobs before achieving mainstream success. According to him, he worked as a backing vocalist, studio assistant and chorus writer for other musicians while performing cover songs at hotels and events to make ends meet. Camidoh disclosed that he once earned about GH¢400 as a backing vocalist during the early stages of his career. He also worked at Decay Studio’s 3FS studio as an engineer and assistant while occasionally recording choruses for other artistes.

“I had to survive, so I was doing whatever I could do to make some money,” he said. The musician revealed that he performed cover songs at venues including Alyssa Hotel, Front/Back and Kempinski events, singing tracks from international artistes such as Sam Smith, Akon and Jordin Sparks. Although he admitted he initially disliked singing other people’s songs, Camidoh said the experience became an important part of his artistic development. “It makes you really solid,” he stated while encouraging upcoming artistes to embrace similar struggles and training processes.

The singer added that learning covers and performing at small gigs helped sharpen his vocal abilities and stage confidence, lessons he believes continue to shape his career today.