In 2011, following a disappointing spell at the Vodafone Icons Remix talent show, Afrobeats singer, Kweku Afro thought his music dream was effectively over. Little did he know that the experience was merely a springboard designed to propel him into the stratosphere of his career.
Born to a cashew nut farmer and a petty trader, the Sunyani native, bred in Abeka—a suburb of Accra— had to endure a rough childhood. His tumultuous upbringing resulted in him leaving home at 16 years old and passing his nights at an electrical cable shop in Odorkor, while on his quest to realise his burning desire to be a musician.
“I played at popular joints like Fridays, and Fair Gardens with the First Sky Band to earn a livelihood” he recounts.
Born David Kweku Appiah-Kubi, Afro is an alumnus of Christian IPS School, a key gestation ground that ensured he played alongside legends such as Pat Thomas, AB Crenstil and Ben Brako. Known for his dancing prowess back in high school, Kweku Afro was also a fixture at several youth functions.
Like a beam of light through a dark tunnel, Kweku Afro’s hope was bolstered when he ventured into the live band circuit in Accra, playing on a guitar gifted to him by a friend who was travelling abroad for further studies.
In 2015, Kweku met “The Characters” band, with whom he performed live at Krystal Night Club, a nightlife staple in the country. He has since assumed the role of lead vocalist for the band and played with first-rate acts in the country.
A significant breakthrough arrived with a performance for Lion Heart Events, where he courted the notice Eric Kwame Goka (@kegoka), CEO of Twist Night Club. Though he had no interest in setting up a record label, Kweku’s superior talent thus provoked the serial entrepreneur to set up the Twist Entertainment Legacy, to which the singer is now signed.
Kweku Afro who is a songwriter, producer, choreographer and instrumentalist, reveals that his new deal has benefited his creative process, saying, “I moved from staying in a single room at Dome, a suburb of Accra, where I was distracted on several occasions by my landlord, thereby stifling my creativity, to an area very conducive to my art in West Legon. I recorded about 65 songs, self-produced, in 21 days after moving to my new place courtesy Twist Entertainment Legacy.” Widely tipped as the next big thing in Ghanaian pop music, Kweku Afro is set to release his debut single “Monalisa” on FRIDAY .
