Singer Songwriters

"I like the way she (Wiyaala) is doing her things because she has been herself and she only has to improve on her music. But her concept and the way she portrays herself is clear indication that she is on the right path."

"Every parent must teach their child their local dialect, if you don't do that, it's very embarrassing and when you go home they will be making fun of you... it is one thing you have to learn 'compulsory by force'."

"If you’re authentic, artificial intelligence can’t kill your career."

"It’s true that my music is not always genre specific, but I always see it as Afro-centric. I will be releasing an album of my own songs later this year (2016) and I will be singing in my local languages of Sissala and Wale as well as English. Some of the songs will sound traditional and local to where I grew up, whilst others will be more mainstream influenced."

"That is why in my opinion I think you would have to understand [the language in] rap music to enjoy it. Because rap is very similar to talking. If you are a rapper and you went to certain places and they don’t understand what you are rapping about because you are talking to them in a much faster pace."

"I am a religious person but marrying a man of God won’t work for me. I do secular music and a man of God wouldn’t allow his wife to be doing that. I will rather marry a free thinker so that we manage, particularly someone who is not too much into church."

"All my life, I have dreamt one day I would climb international stages and showcase my talents on behalf of Ghanaians to the world. I say to all Africans, in whatever field you have talent, dream big and go out and live that dream. We can and will change perceptions about Africa."

"I can do any kind or style of music I want...Reggae, Ragga, Ballad, African, Afro pop, even Pure pop. As an African, I still have my African thing and I don’t want to lose that because I just believe from day one that would make me stand out quick and I can never let that go."

"You need not copy people blindly, else you will find yourself wanting."

"When I was growing up, girls had no say. Your only use is to be married off for your bride price. I saw many girls taken out of the classroom and handed out to men - usually older men."

"I decided to let people know the real Wiyaala. Rock My Body happened because I was trying to join what was trending. That was because I just allowed myself to be influenced by some friends who said 'oh do this because it is trending. It is going to make you [popular]. [So, I said] let's get it [done]'. Deep down I'm not sure."

"I will be as popular as anything in the North but because it’s (Ghana Music Awards) an Accra-based program and most of the radio stations are Accra-based, it is normal that they only hear Accra songs. Most of the DJs don’t understand our songs and a lot of people are not willing to understand our songs."

"I don’t go to church because the churches around where I stay currently make too much noise which doesn’t invite me to worship with them. I believe we go to church to worship God, sing and pray but what goes on in my area is beyond measure."

"If Wiyaala came from Funsi and has succeeded, then me too, I can make it."

"Rock My Body, is a sex song but if it comes out people will just put me in a certain category that is not me. I'm versatile. I can sing any style but I really need to start well. If I don't lay the foundations well and I come with the wrong start, that's how the industry will receive her. Rock my body did that."

"I never took singing lessons. I was like my daughter, singing in front of videos with a hairbrush as a microphone! Probably because I was imitating the songs I watched on TV. I thought it was great"

"I was studying fashion at La Courneuve. I wanted to be a designer, but I stopped enjoying it, so I sang"

"If I allow, through my work and my commitments, certain women to assert themselves, then it is a source of pride! I believe that influence must be useful. Otherwise it is useless"

"When I was younger, I studied pattern making and I really wanted to be a pattern maker. It takes so much patience, though, and that’s not my forte. I quit in spite of myself simply because I couldn’t. That was my closest relationship with fashion"

"At the beginning of my career, I was rather skeptical about this idea of a role model. But it is a reality: I have influence"

"“Finally getting out of the camps was a great day. It felt so good to get out of the gates, and just know that you were going home…finally. Home wasn't where I left it though. Getting back, I was just shocked to see what had happened, our home being bought by a different family, different decorations in the windows; it was our house, but it wasn't anymore. It hurt not being able to return home, but moving into a new home helped me I believe. I think it helped me to bury the past a little, too, you know, move on from what had happened.""

"Women’s emancipation. That’s my fight"

"It’s all violence against women that I fight. If I can use my music and my fame for them, I never hesitate,"

"Everyone sings in my family. But I’m the only one who dared to sing ‘for real'"

"So the thing about me is, I’ve always considered myself to be a very versatile artist. From the very first EP, all five to six songs on are completely different and I’ve never wanted to box myself."

"Going for a reality show developed me as an artist. Vodafone Icons helped develop me as an artist, I am Cina Soul because of my time on Vodafone Icons, I may not have won but being on the show gave me an identity. I know a lot of people out there have faith and believe in me so I have to make everyone proud by giving it my all."

"I love Cina Soul. I put her on my shows because I want to give her the kind of exposure that I didn't get when I was starting my music career with the kind of music that I was doing. And she has a beautiful talent that I think is gonna grow to become amazing and I'm here to support her as much as I can..."

"I for do what I can till I’m gone You touch me, you touch fire Let no man ever touch my crown."

"Sometimes, some labels just preach a lot before they sign you, but you get in there and you don't see anything. I remember when I actually was with Universal when I recorded Ojorley, they didn't want the song. And that's my biggest song too. That's how funny it was. I actually got signed to the Universal Music record label, and I'm independent again, I have been independent for a longer time."

"It's hard to penetrate the Ghanaian music market, your music probably won't sell, people wouldn't like you, some people who have grown in the industry will tell you that your music won't sell. Sometimes these comments can break you and you tend to ask yourself would this music that I'm doing yield results at all...Even people would sometimes sabotage you."

"I think finding your sound or what makes you unique is always the hardest part because there are a million artists around the world. Even in Ghana, there are thousands, so what will make you stand out? It’s like at every point, you find a different type or different side of you."

"It was for a moment. I released an EP called Ga Mashi during that moment, so it makes sense to be that persona for that moment. If I've gone past that project and released an EP called For Times We Lost that is very Afrobeats/HipHop, whu do I keep doing that? All this is intentional, I like to be different persona with every project I put out. I love to stay different all the time."

"What ever sound that comes to me in the studio, that’s what comes out be it highlife, Afro beat, or Afro-pop."

"My glam team don't sleep, they are always on point and always trying to make me look good because my image is really important...every space am in, they want me to stand out."

"When I started music people used to look down on me because I was smallish. There were some instances where I went to events and the organisers asked how old I was and I added five years to my age."

"My music career began in school but got firm and strong after I had completed and put in much effort in to building it."

"I think she (Cina Soul) is actually extremely good. Soul’s voice is like something that can represent us (Ghana) on an international scale. I know she’s gonna get there. I don’t know which song [will take her there]. When I saw King Promise I knew. But I didn’t know how. But I knew he was gonna be huge. And Cina Soul has that approach."

"Cina is a nice person and I like her vibe and I'll spend the whole day with her and even more. She is talented, I like her vibe and performance on stage and I'm a big fan."

"There is something called psychology in music, psychology is just studying peoples behaviour and my background as a psychology student has influenced the kind of things I say in my songs and people say my music is therapeutic."

"I know that there's a cancel community – you cannot cancel what you have created."

"When I'm needed, and when the time is right, the world will hear my voice. They will not hear my voice when they feel they should."

"If you haven't been in the child's life for many years you are no longer the father of the child, even if you decide to resurface and take responsibility"

"A father for a girl-child sets the bar in relation to how you view and relate to men"

"The Kelly today doesn’t care what people say or think of her. The Kelly you see today is not defined by people’s expectations or perceptions of her. She is a liberated being, not defined by society – so, I appreciate her more than I did 20 or 10 years ago"

"Fame has a way of finding you"

"Enough is enough. It stops here and it stops today. I'm not going to be diplomatic about this. I'm not going to release press statements, I'm not going to waste my money hiring lawyers to speak on my behalf"

"Motherhood is not for the faint-hearted; it’s for soldiers who are godly trusted because kids will test your faith, love and patience"

"I'm not above the law"

"My children are a reflection of me – they mirror me in everything, but they’re also a better, upgraded version of me"

"I wanted to tell a story of finding love, but it went deeper than that, because to find love, you have to find who you are, what makes you happy."