The music maestro Julius Kojo Antwi known in the showbiz world as Kojo Antwi over the years has rocked the industry with mixed genres from afro pop, reggae and highlife tracks which swept the nation off its feet.
Mr “Music Man” sent his career to the highest level after he released his debut album “All I need is you” in 1986 to set the tone of excitement in many hearts.
He became a chartbuster in the country and blended Ghanaian highlife with Congolese soukous, Caribbean lovers rock, with a dash of African American soul rhythm and blues (R&B), the soloist set a unique record on the music scene and gained much respect and love from people across the world.
The music legend, Kojo Antwi established himself as a consummate vocalist, prolific songwriter, producer, arranger and great performer making him inarguably the best alive who has more awards to his credit.
His songs are timeless because of its lovely ballad nature and each track has a remarkable therapy that heals the hearts of his fans, he rocked Ghanaians with songs like “Tom and Jerry,” “Densu,” “Stand by generator,” and “Mr Music man.”
His name entered into the hall of fame as one of the finest highlife/reggae legends known in the land at the 4th edition of Legends and Legacy (LAL) Ball for his immense contribution to the music industry and projecting Ghana to the international front with the local Twi language.
The music icon has 13 albums and he is working on his 14th album which will soon bang the air waves, Times Weekend had an encounter with him on Thursday to delve into his world and ascertain how he has been able to sustain the breath of the industry.
TW: We are honoured to have you.
Kojo Antwi: Great! Nice to be here.
TW: How did you discover your talent?
Kojo Antwi: I discovered it at a tender age during elementary school.
TW: Did you gain support from your parents when you wanted to pursue your dream?
Kojo Antwi: No! Those days are not like today. During that time every parent wanted their children to be a great professional like a doctor or lawyer.
TW: So how did you cope?
Kojo Antwi: Actually I went for an audition and I gained an opportunity to be a member of a band which was called Boom Talents then later I joined Classique Vibes which my parents didn’t know about.
TW: How did your parents react when they saw you in the limelight?
Kojo Antwi: They were excited.
TW: How have you been able to sustain the hype all these years?
Kojo Antwi: It is God oo, God blessed me with a masterpiece of art and incredible fans who love me for my music.
TW: What makes your music unique?
Kojo Antwi: I learnt a lot during the time I started singing, those days you don’t get opportunity to sing your own song so you perform with others’ songs through that I groomed myself to produce quality content that communicates.
TW: Kojo why did you embrace music as a profession?
Kojo Antwi: I did that because of passion not because of money or anything else.
TW: How do you consider yourself as a musician?
Kojo Antwi: I consider myself as a voice for the voiceless so my music is not about me but it’s basically about experience of others, something that people relate to, that’s why I don’t use lyrics like “Shake that body for me.”
TW: Incredible! Why is your music timeless?
Kojo Antwi: Hahaha! It’s because of how I coin my lyrics and how each track communicates to people. I make sure the topic I write on speaks well to people and this is the reason why the songs keep trending and keep surviving the test of time, music ought to be timeless.
TW: Is it that most contemporary musicians don’t understand music that is why their songs fade?
Kojo Antwi: Not necessarily, as I indicated earlier I didn’t just become a singer overnight, I passed through thick and thin which shaped me, I researched a lot and I spent years singing other people’s songs. Through that I learnt what music is about unlike today that the opportunity has availed itself for people to just come out with their songs.
TW: So is this generation living up to expectation?
Kojo Antwi: Yes because we do have brilliant young artistes like Stonebwoy, Kwesi Arthur, King Promise, Kwame Eugene, Kidi and others who are doing good music.
TW: Have you seen any challenge within the industry?
Kojo Antwi: The problem is that policy makers are not supporting the industry, if they are to support the industry, artistes will do good music with rich content. Taking America as example, their industry is supported so artistes work hard to lift high their flag and also most artistes today are more into images than sound so they hardly concentrate on the song.
TW: Kojo what is new in your world?
Kojo Antwi: I released a new track with Stonebwoy last two weeks dubbed “Akyekye de3 nante3,” it is a reggae track which is available on the major online media. Last year I released a single track and I was also featured on King Promise’s new song which is yet to be released.
TW: How has your journey been like?
Kojo Antwi: It has been incredible! It is a mission that God created me for to touch people and make people walk with smiles.
TW: What should fans expect from you?
Kojo Antwi: I will be dropping an album very soon so fans should keep their fingers crossed.
TW: Great! How do you get inspiration to write?
Kojo Antwi: By God, actually when I started singing I told myself I will not write on anything but Love, I thought choosing love I will be limited but God being so good he always helps me to get something new to write.
TW: What do you have to say to Ghanaians?
Kojo Antwi: I love them because they support me with prayers but I will urge them to help creative people to be more creative. They should desist from cashing in on people’s creativity and to the politicians they should talk less and do more to support the creative industry.
TW: I’m grateful for your time.
Kojo Antwi: You are welcome.
By Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
