Chief Executive Officer of Lynx Group Limited and award-winning music producer Richie Mensah has opened up about the intense backlash his mother faced for supporting his dream to pursue music instead of a career in medicine.
Speaking on Joy Prime’s Changes with Roselyn Felli, Richie recounted the early days of his journey into music, revealing that he made the life-changing decision at the age of 17 after completing senior high school.
“When I started my journey, I was 17, and a lot of people said I was too young,” Richie said. “I finished senior high and had a conversation with my mum, telling her I wanted to do music. It was a big shocker because everybody expected me to go to medical school.”
Richie noted that his decision to divert from the conventional path of medicine left many in his circle disappointed and even hostile, particularly toward his mother. Despite the pressure and criticism, his mother remained firmly in his corner.
“She supported me wholeheartedly. So many people insulted her and said she was allowing her son to waste his intelligence and future,” Richie recounted.
“They asked why I was doing music instead of going to study medicine.”
Determined to prove himself, Richie gave himself a year to pursue music seriously. Within that time, he opened a music studio, a move that ultimately became the foundation of his now-thriving career and the Lynx Entertainment empire.
The emotional weight of those early struggles would later inspire his breakout hit Yaro. “When I released my first song, many people didn’t believe I would make it. But eventually, I did,” he said. “So Yaro in Hausa means ‘small boy.’ I was saying, ‘They say I be Yaro, but they can’t contest the Yaro.’”
Richie explained that the song was a message to young people everywhere—an anthem for those daring to follow their passion despite societal expectations.
Now recognized as one of Ghana’s most influential figures in the entertainment industry, Richie Mensah continues to be a role model for aspiring creatives, championing the belief that age and tradition should never limit one’s potential.