It’s worship time with Kofi Owusu Peprah

‘WHEN life gives you lemons, make lemonade’ is a saying used to encourage optimism and a positive attitude in the face of misfortune and Gospel artiste Kofi Owusu Peprah understood and applied this to change his story for the better.

Back at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he had his university education, the Amen singer was a known bass guitarist. However, he realised that little value was placed on his skills and he didn’t have the chance to play much at school functions.

The reason, in the words of Kofi Owusu Peprah was that, “there were many students who played the bass guitar better than me. Determined to be useful in the scheme of affairs nonetheless, he opted to be a singer and that certainly was Kofi’s best decision and today, he is holding his own in the Gospel music industry.

In a conversation with Graphic Showbiz, the father of one said even though he was not too happy about the situation, God had better plans for him as a singer and he has no regrets taking that path.

“Until I went to the university, I thought I was probably the best bass guitarist but the situation was far from that. I met people who were better players and were always selected over me. With the desire to make myself useful, I joined the mass choir and that was how I discovered that I could sing.

“Gradually, I developed my singing abilities and even moved on to become the music director of the University’s mass choir in 2014. That was when I realised that indeed God’s ways are not ours,” he stated.

The end result of switching to be a chorister is a fruitful music career where Kofi Owusu Peprah is coming up strongly in the Gospel music sector.

With the firm belief that his father, Rev George Owusu Mensah’s coaching and influence have been positive influences on his flourishing music ministry, he did a rendition of his father’s song, Matwen titled The Father in his honour.

Since then, Kofi has come out with other songs such as Amen, Big God and a Worship Medley which are all doing well after his debut, Yesu Nyame Ba in 2018.

Despite the growing popularity of his works in the last year including Big God, he failed to secure a nomination at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. Speaking about the development, Kofi said even though he would have loved to be part of this year’s awards, he was not bothered about not getting nominations.

“My works are proof of what I did last year. I released three songs in the midst of the pandemic and they are still doing well. Maybe, the organisers had their criteria but whatever it is, I’m excited to know my songs are positively affecting lives,” he stated.

Born to Rev George Owusu Mensah and Mrs. Bernice Owusu Mensah in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Kofi Owusu Peprah is the third of five children. He has two elder sisters and two younger brothers. He is married to Barbara Ama Asantewaa Mensah, a fashion designer, and they are blessed with a daughter, Diella Psalm.

Kofi Owusu Peprah and his wife Barbara

At present, he is the Music Director at International Central Gospel Church (Evangel Temple) located at New Dawhenya and is also a backing vocalist for Joe Mettle Ministries.

Growing up in a pastor’s house meant he did not have the luxury of feeding on just any sort of music, movies or other form of media, and listened to a lot of songs from Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Hosanna Music, Integrity Music among others and Kofi believes this greatly influenced the person he is today.

“As I said earlier, I never decided to learn or do music, it just happened. I found myself doing it and it worked anytime I did it. Maybe, I was born a musician but didn’t discover that part of me until my university days.

Kofi had his primary and Junior High School (JHS) education at the Grace Baptist Church in Kumasi. He then moved to Kumasi Anglican Secondary School (Great Akass) and had his university education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (NKUST) where he read Agriculture Mechanization from 2010 to 2014.

During his time on campus, he served as the Music Director of both the National Union of Baptist Students and the University Mass Choir. In 2016, he enrolled for a Diploma in Church Music at the Ghana Baptist University College.

He admonished his counterparts in the Gospel fraternity not to compete among themselves. According to him, their core duty hinged on “telling the Good News” to people through music.

“As Gospel musicians we need to turn a blind eye to competition because we are on the same mission of the great commission. At the end of the day, we carry one message of the salvation of Jesus Christ,” he stated.

Kofi Owusu Peprah in action

He also entreated his colleagues to be versatile since the times were changing. “Times are changing and our music must evolve with these times. With contemporary music, we can employ diverse means of reaching a wider audience with the important message of salvation which I said earlier.

“For instance, we can do Jazz, Reggae and other styles of music with the core message centred on God because people have different music tastes and being versatile will certainly attract diverse audiences,” he said.

Kofi loves any rice dish, be it the popular Jollof rice or braised rice with stew and in his leisure time, likes to listen to music, playing any of his musical instruments including saxophone, bass guitar and keyboard. Asante Kotoko and AC Milan are his favourite football teams.

For one who has had the opportunity to be groomed by senior colleagues, it is his desire to similarly provide an avenue for many young Gospel artistes to fully explore their potential.

“It should be the calling of every Gospel artiste to mentor young ones and my ambitions including having a blueprint for them to have things easier for them than some of us did,” he noted.