Skales
Skales performing "Shaku Shaku" at the 24th edition of the Koroga Festival in December 2018
Background information
Birth name	Raoul John Njeng-Njeng
Born	(1991-04-01)1 April 1991 (age 33) Kaduna State, Nigeria
Genres	Hip hop R&B
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2000–present[1]
Labels	Baseline OHK Music

Raoul John Njeng-Njeng (born 1 April 1991), better known asSkales (an acronym for "Seek Knowledge Acquire Large Entrepreneurial Skills"), is aNigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2000, he started writing rap songs inKaduna. Between 2007 and 2008, he travelled toJos to work withJesse Jagz andJeremiah Gyang. In 2008, Skakes entered the Zain Tru Search competition and won the competition's North Central region. His debut single, "Must Shine", received numerousspin on the Rhythm FM stations inLagos, Jos and Abuja.^[2]

Skales relocated toLagos and signed a record deal withEmpire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) in 2009.^[3] He has collaborated with artists such asAkon,ELDee,Tekno, Harmonize,Jeremiah Gyang,Banky W., and Knighthouse. His well-known songs include "Shake Body", "Mukulu", "Keresimesi", "Komole", "My Baby", "Take Care of Me" and "Denge Pose". He set up his independent record label, OHK Music, after leaving E.M.E in May 2014. His debut studio album,Man of the Year, was released in 2015.^[4]

A native ofEdo State, Raoul John Njeng-Njeng was born and raised inKaduna State.^[5] He grew up in a single-parent household with his mother, who did menial jobs to nurture him. Skales became interested in music while regularly attending his mother's cassette store.^[6] He met producersJeremiah Gyang andJesse Jagz while attending theUniversity of Jos (Unijos). He took part in the Zain Tru Search Competition during his time at Unijos and won the competition's North Central region. Skales left Unijos his junior year and attendedLead City University, where he graduated with a degree in office management and technology. His debut single, "Must Shine", received positive critical acclaim. In an interview withThis Day newspaper in 2013, Skales described himself as an entertainer whose music is influenced by his surroundings.^[7] The song "Jesus Walks" byKanye West served as the inspiration for his 2009 track "Heading for a Grammy". An anthem to self-empowerment, the song was shaped in part by the events he was going through at the time.^[8][9]

Skales signed a record deal withE.M.E after meetingBanky W. in 2009. He released the singles "Mukulu" and "Keresimesi" simultaneously; both songs were produced bySarz and released under the outfit. The music video for the latter track was directed byClarence Peters and uploaded to YouTube on 28 November 2011.^[10][11] Skales was one of the main acts on E.M.E's debut compilation album,Empire Mates State of Mind (2012). He collaborated withBanky W.,Wizkid,Shaydee,Niyola andDJ Xclusive on five of the album's seven singles. He also toured with some of the aforementioned acts on the EME US Tour, which kicked off on 4 July and ended on 2 September 2012. E.M.E acts performed in several cities, including Houston, Dallas, Toronto, Vancouver, New York City, Providence, Calgary, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.^[12][13] Skales supported Wizkid on his tour of London in 2012.^[14] On 17 October 2013, he performed at the 2013 edition ofFelabration, a yearly concert dedicated toFela Kuti.^[15] In February 2014,Vanguard newspaper reported that Skales left E.M.E following the expiration of his four-year recording contract. E.M.E executives believed they were not getting remunerated for investing in him and refused to renew his contract.^[16][17]

Skales founded OHK Music, his own record label, in May 2014. The label has connections to various musicians in Nigeria and is home to producer Drey Beatz. Skales released the Jay Pizzle-produced track "Shake Body" on May 6, 2014, as the lead single from his debut studio albumMan of the Year. The accompanying music video for the song was uploaded to YouTube on 22 July 2014. Skales promoted the song by announcing the Shake Body video competition.^[18] Skales reportedly signed a record deal withTimaya's Dem Mama Records following his departure from E.M.E. In February 2014, he debunked the reports and said he didn't sign with Dem Mama Records.^[19][20]

In December 2011, Skales was involved in acar accident along the Lekki-Epe Expressway. The car he was in ran into a ditch and somersaulted. The accident left one dead and three injured.^[10][21] On March 14, 2021, Skales announced his engagement to his girlfriend on Instagram.^[22]

Selected singles

• List of Nigerian musicians

• Skales atSoundCloud
• Skales onAunomay Music

• Nigerian male rappers
• 21st-century Nigerian male singers
• 1991 births
• Living people
• Nigerian hip-hop singers
• Yoruba-language singers of Nigeria
• University of Jos alumni
• People from Southern Kaduna
• People from Kaduna State
• People from Edo State
• Lead City University alumni

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• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• EngvarB from August 2014
• Use dmy dates from August 2014
• Articles with hCards
• Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts