Hunger forced me to record some songs I’m not proud of — Ofori Amponsah

Famed Ghanaian Highlife musician, Ofori Amponsah has recently opened up about the struggles he faced in his career, revealing that hunger had compelled him to record songs he now regrets putting out. 

The renowned musician, who is widely known for his soulful highlife tunes such as Emmanuella, Otoolege, spoke candidly in an interview with Graphic Showbiz about the financial challenges he encountered when he first joined in the music industry, emphasizing that financial challenges led him to create songs that didn’t resonate with his artistic integrity.

He acknowledged the fact that the pressure to generate income during lean times had led him to produce songs that deviated from his artistic vision.

In this music business, you sometimes do certain things to survive. I did a couple of songs that were popular all over Ghana, but honestly, I am not proud of those songs because hunger pushed me to do them.

Read also: I will never go broke – Ofori Amponsah

“Those songs didn’t come from within and I wouldn’t have done them if I were financially okay back then. But I had to pay the bills—utility bills, school fees among other things,” he said.

However, according to the once acclaimed Man Of God, if a musician decides to make money the main reason he or she records songs, that person may come out with a hit that may trend for a while but the artist together with his hit will become irrelevant in no time at all.

“Musicians who make their ‘stomachs’ their priority become irrelevant after a period of time. When you are a musician and you are always thinking of making money to pay bills or sort yourself out, you may not come out with a very good song.

“In this case, your priority won’t be the content you put out but the money, and you will end up becoming irrelevant in no time. A song like Abele was something that came from my ‘within’ and such songs can last for a very long time. In fact, they are evergreen,” he detailed.