Ghanaian rap icon Sarkodie has opened up about his turbulent childhood which he credits for his strong foundation to navigating his music career and rise to becoming one of Africa's most celebrated rappers.
The multiple award-winning artiste, in an interview with DJ Adu on the BBC, revealed that as one of five siblings, he was singled out by his father and taken away to live separately, away from his mother and grandmother, and away from the relative comfort his siblings enjoyed.
"I have four siblings, so we are five. I don't understand why I'm the only person dad came to pick to groom me somewhere.
"Comparing myself to my siblings, they were living with grandma and mom. When you have your parents, poverty is an idea because you still have something to eat. So, they didn't feel it," he said.
According to him, where he was taken, life was anything but ordinary. He recounted having to sell yam on the streets to earn food, going long stretches without affection or stability, and waking up each day focused solely on survival.
"I had to live like a movie. I had to work for a very long time to make sales before I could have something to eat.
"As a young child, all you need is a little bit of affection from mom or dad, and you don't get that from nowhere for a long period. All you're living is trying to figure out how to get through the next 24 hours,” he recalled.
Sarkodie recalled his breaking point as a young boy. He said one day he could no longer take it and decided to find his mother on his own.
"I was in class and I have had too much of it. I said, today I'm not going back. I have to go and find mom wherever she is. I went to the station, saved money, sat on the bus, went to Tema, and she freaked out when she saw me," he said.
It was during those dark years, Sarkodie said music found him.
He noted that the loneliness, the hardship, and the silence of watching life happen around him pushed him to pick up a pen to write lyrics.
"That's what made me start writing music. Maybe, if I had been in Tema enjoying life with mommy, I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing," he reflected.
The rapper used the platform to send a message to young people facing similar hardships, urging them to never give up.
"No matter what you're going through, no matter how hard you think it is, trust me, it's definitely for a reason. You just have to wait till that reason comes. Whatever is happening is not normal," he said.
Sarkodie stated that he does not allow himself to forget where he comes from.
"From where I came from to now, having this microphone and this water here is heaven for me. I don't take it for granted,” he said.
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