The music industry is a very slippery terrain, especially when one is yet to hit the limelight.
Kwesi Arthur’s success in the music industry may come as a surprise to a lot of people but the young musician did not have life on a silver platter while growing up.
Even though it did not take him long to get to where he is now, he recounts on several occasions the strife the greeted him in pursuit of his dream.
Kwesi has also revealed the hard times he went through while growing up with his family.
As we celebrate the success of the ‘Woara’ hit maker, ghanaweekend.com throw some light on some of the touching incidents of his life story.
1. He slept in a kiosk with his family
While growing up, there got to a time when Kwesi and Arthur and his siblings had to wait for his mother to close business in a kiosk before the entire family could get a place to sleep.
“We were sleeping in my mom’s shop in Tema Community 5. We waited till she closed the shop at night so we sleep, together with my dad. We later moved to Ashaiman, then to Sakumono before moving in with my Grandma at community 9,” he once told Delay.
2. He doesn’t have a WASSCE Certificate
Obviously, life was not easy for Kwesi Arthur. Even though he completed senior high school, he was not able to have his certificate.
According to him he could not even go for the certificate because he owed school fees.
3. He had a BET nomination less than 2 years of being in the music industry
Kwesi Arthur was nominated for the Viewers’ Choice: Best New International Act category at the 2018 BET Awards.
The ‘Woara’ singer was nominated in the category alongside Prince Waly (France), Take A Mic (France), Niniola (Nigeria), Mc Soffia (Brazil), Sjava (South Africa), Sik-K (South Korea), Nailah Blackman (Trinidad and Tobago), Not3s (UK) and Iamddb (UK).
He lost to Sjava of South Africa, but according to him he was humbled by the immense support shown him by Ghanaians music fans and the media.
That notwithstanding he was appreciative of the love Ghanaians showed him by canvassing support for him on social media platforms.
4. Drake’s songs inspired him to get into music
According to the BET Awards nominee, the idea of starting to write music came to him after listening to Drake tell his own life stories in his songs.
“My dad used to play music in the house. But I started listening to Drake and that’s what made me to feel like I can write music. So, Drake made me to start writing music. He was talking about his life so why not go into it and write about myself so that’s how it started,” he told the BBC.
5. He was punished for singing VIP’s song in church
Rapper Kwesi Arthur who is a member of the Church of Pentecost has explained why he does not sing in church.
According to him, he was severely reprimanded for mistakenly singing VIP’s ‘Ahomka Wom’ in church when he was young – a situation which deterred him from singing in church.
The issue happened when the Sunday School children after church service one day, went to play the musical instruments. He picked the microphone and started singing VIP’s ‘Ahomka Wom.’
He was then scolded by the members of the church after which his mother gave him a few strokes.
