I quit acting because of money - Okyeame Kwame

Popular musician Okyeame Kwame has said he was neck deep into filmmaking in Ghana but fled the sector because it was not lucrative.

The ‘Rap Doctor’ said some ten years ago he actually wanted to become a full time actor and even featured in eight movies including The Comforter, Amsterdam Diary and the recent, Ties That Bind by Leila Djansi, among others. But he said he decided to focus on his music career because music brings more cash to him.

Okyeame made the comment while speaking in a short interview with NEWS-ONE over the weekend at the launch of the new TV series titled, Table of Men.

“I have done a couple of movies. I think this is my eighth movie. I have done some very good movies and some really bad movies. I have done series as well. Ten years ago, I was really really acting and then I gave up to focus on my music because the roles were quite demanding and we will be on set for two weeks. …the amount of money you will be paid for one movie for shooting for the two weeks is same as thirty (30) minutes performance. The economics of it were not adding up so I stopped for a while,” he said.

He is, however, back on the acting scene with a new role in the upcoming series, Table of Men.

He said, “I think I am empowered to do more now because I have a much better team that I work with.”

But he fell short of disclosing whether the business part of the new series job was good, since that was one of the reasons he abandoned the movie industry years ago.

“I am playing the role of barber who is also an artist. My hassle is to us the barbering to eat daily but what I really wanted to be [was] an artist. As the story unfolds, you will see how I take money from barber shop to develop my arts to become somebody,” he explained his role in the series.

Directed by Abeiku Acquah, popularly known as “Akiller,” and produced by Ecow Smith Asante, the series will be on the screens soon.

“It’s a challenge; it is an opportunity to extend myself. It is an opportunity to improve everything that I do, especially if it is not in my comfort rap zone. I see it more as academy; an opportunity to learn. I took it as a challenge,” he said, noting that it was one of the reasons he accepted the role.

Okyeame Kwame remains one of the best musicians Ghana has produced. He has been in the music industry for years, is still relevant in the industry and has a solid following.