Hunger forced me to do some songs I’m not proud of —Ofori Amponsah

ALTHOUGH he wouldn’t mention them, popular Highlife artiste, Ofori Amponsah aka Mr All 4Real, has expressed regret over some of the iconic hits in his repertoire which he was forced to record due to hunger.

Ofori Amponsah who has collaborated with musicians including Daddy Lumba, Kofi Nti, Barosky, K.K. Fosu, Sarkodie, King Promise among others is known for hit songs such as Emmanuella, Otoolege, Sardine, Alewa, Odwo, Anigyena, Daamabi, Bonwire, Lady, Tintin, Abele, Hello, Broken Heart, Puduo and Sampson and Delilah among others.

It is therefore hard to guess which of his songs made his lyrical-regrets list because Ofori Amponsah’s groove can be described as impeccable. He has amazing tunes to his credit.

Yet, he wished he never recorded some of his songs including some of the bangers we love so much. Yes, the songs that still get us bopping, tapping our feet, or drive us to the dancefloor to do our own thing.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Graphic Showbiz, the Otoolege hitmaker said there were songs he was not proud of but had to do them to survive because he was not financially sound back then.

“In this music business, you sometimes do things certain things to survive. I did a couple of songs that were popular all over Ghana but honestly, I am not proud of those songs because hunger pushed me to do them.

“Those songs didn’t come from within and I wouldn’t have done them if I were financially okay back then. But I had to pay the bills—utility bills, school fees among other things,” he disclosed.

However, according to Ofori Amponsah, if a musician makes money the main reason he records songs, he may come out with a hit that may trend for a while but the artiste together with his hit will fizzle out in no time at all.

“Musicians who make their ‘stomachs’ their priority become irrelevant after a period of time. When you are a musician and you are always thinking of making money to pay bills or sort yourself out, you may not come out with a very good song.”

“In this case, your priority won’t be the content you put out but the money, and you will end up becoming irrelevant in no time. A song like Abele was something that came from my ‘within’ and such songs can last for a very long time. In fact, they are evergreen,” he explained.