Akwaboah has revealed that financial hardship played a surprising role in uncovering his songwriting gift.
The Ghanaian singer and songwriter revealed in an interview on MX24 TV that he first realized his talent when he tried to sell a song just to survive. “I didn’t even know that I could write songs until I was broke,” he admitted. “So, I actually wanted to sell one of my songs.”
At the time, Akwaboah approached Kiki Banson, then-manager of songstress Becca, with a song he hoped to trade for quick cash. But Banson had other ideas.
“I spoke to Kiki… Kiki was like, ‘Do you know the song you have written?’ And I said, ‘I have done my song and just want to sell it.’ Kiki said he was not buying the song. He told me he needs to promote me and promote the song so that people would know that you know how to write songs and then they can come and that would be another way of making money,” Akwaboah recounted.
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Though he didn’t sell the song, Kiki saw potential in Akwaboah’s writing and instead offered to support and promote him. He gave him some money for upkeep and arranged for the song to be professionally produced.
That song was Daa Ke Da, which Becca later performed. It became a major hit and won an award, even before Akwaboah had released music under his own name. “We went to the studio, Kwame Yeboah produced the song, Becca sang, it became a hit and then anywhere Becca goes she started talking about it from interview to interview. That’s where the industry started seeing Akwaboah behind the scenes but by then I didn’t even have a song out. So, I actually won an award without having a song out,” he said.
Akwaboah also used the platform to raise concerns about how Ghana’s music industry overlooks the contributions of songwriters. He lamented that many artists collect awards and accolades without acknowledging the people who penned their songs.
“I went for an interview and they asked why I had stopped writing for people; I’ve not stopped writing but now it feels like even if you do it, there’s no credit. They would mention a name, they would go for the award, they would say I thank God, I thank my team and then that’s it, they don’t give credit to the songwriter,” the ‘Matters of the Heart’ composer stated.
Watch his statement below.
“I realized I could write music when I became broke.” – @AkwaboahMusic
— MX24 TV (@mx24gh) July 8, 2025
He spoke to @miriamumensah on #TheAmClub #mx24gh #funfearlessfactual pic.twitter.com/I7Qu54NbJX
