It's not every day you get offered to work with the record label of one of Cameroon's top artists.
Stanley Enow is a Cameroonian artist and music producer who is self-produced under his record label, Motherland Empire. He grew to fame in 2013 with his hit, Hein Père, which propelled him to win the 2014 MTV African Music Awards for the Best New Act Category. Since then, Stanley Enow has continued influencing the Cameroonian music industry through national and international collaborations with the likes of Davido, Mr. Eazi, AKA, and other talented artists. Most recently, he received the African Artist of the Year award at the 19th Annual Urban Music Awards UK.
I met Stanley Enow when he spoke at the inaugural Yale Africa Innovation Symposium for the Music & Entertainment Innovation Lab. After the symposium, I enjoyed a lovely breakfast with him and his team, and we kept in contact. Fortunately, Motherland Empire offered me the opportunity to work as a Business Intern during my gap semester in Cameroon. I've always had an interest in the business behind the music and entertainment industry, so I could not let this opportunity pass me by.
There's so much work behind the songs we stream on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. By working with Motherland Empire and its partners, I learned how to sit at the table with key stakeholders to promote the interests of my organization. I acquired knowledge of the various PR and marketing strategies implemented to reach Cameroon's Anglophone and Francophone populations. I gained experience in creating proposals and presentation decks to present to entities like UNICEF, for which Stanley Enow is an Ambassador. I sat in places with powerful people who actively shape Cameroon's private and public sectors, an opportunity for which I'm very grateful.
My internship with Motherland Empire enabled me to travel throughout the country and partake in the launch of his recent single,
Take Ova, which has amassed 1.8 million streams on YouTube to date. The team spent many late nights together at music video sets, on calls, working on documents, or discussing the future of Stanley Enow's music career.
Stanley Enow intentionally lives his life as a man of the people. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him more during my internship and contributing in a little way towards his career. A special thank you to him and the entire Motherland Empire team for welcoming me aboard and making my time in Cameroon so memorable! A special shout out to Effiem, Pablo, Bawak, and Baroni - my deepest gratitude to you all. More grace to Motherland Empire on its journey in shaping Cameroon's music industry!
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