Kojo Antwi urges musicians to compose good songs

Veteran highlife musician, Kojo Antwi, has cautioned music lovers to be wary of the kind of music they support, listen and give attention to.

According to him, music was medicine with significant effect on the wellbeing of people and advised the public not to fall for any type of music but, rather, go in for music that comforts the soul.

“The kind of music we download, the kind of music we play, the support and attention given to them help in sustaining that kind of music and they have effects on us. Music is medicine so be careful what you give attention to,” he said.

The highlife musician also advised Ghanaian and African musicians to compose good songs that would impact their communities positively.

He was speaking as a panelist at a roundtable on “Sustaining a distinctive Ghanaian Musical Identity in a Globalised Musical Mix” at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

The roundtable formed part of a 14-day Workshop and activities of the sixth biannual Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) Graduate School’s ‘Performing Sustainability’, Culture and Development in West Africa at UCC.

The SDG Graduate School is a collaborative German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)-funded project being carried out jointly by the Universities of Hildesheim (Germany), Maiduguri (Nigeria) and Cape Coast (Ghana) with focus on the overlapping areas of culture, performance and sustainable development.

With over three decades of music experience, Kojo Antwi expressed worry about the caliber and quality of music being produced in recent times, saying, “Most of our songs today have been reduced to singing about self and body.”

He implored all stakeholders to work towards preserving and sustaining the rich Ghanaian musical rhythms.