Ace Ghanaian Gospel Musician, Michael Oware Sakyi, who is well known as OJ has revealed that a hug from a sister in his church motivated his popular hit song ‘Koso Na Koso’.
Speaking in an interview, the veteran musician revealed that he used to be an instrumentalist in his church but was never paid handsomely.
According to him, he enjoyed working for the Lord, even though the salary wasn’t good. He also mentioned that he always made sure not to show it in his actions or way of life so his people always had the perception that he was content with what he received.
He further disclosed that on one particular day at church, a woman who he refused to disclose, hugged him and whispered a motivational message into his ears. He said that the woman said, “Keep on Keeping on”.
“Feeling motivated by the words of the woman, I decided to create something out of her words and that was how my song ‘Koso Na Koso’ was composed”.
OJ is one of the most prolific gospel artists in Ghana. After releasing his debut album, ‘Adom Ne Odo’ which had songs such as ‘Obi Nya W’aye’ and ‘Koso Na Koso’ in 2003 he went on a musical hiatus. However, he is back from his break and will soon be releasing an album.
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In the same vein, OJ touched on collaborating with other artists. He revealed that he does not take money for collaborations with other musicians. According to him, his interest is in the song the other musician brings on board and if he likes it, he adds his version to the song to make it more soothing for listeners.
“Unlike some musicians who mostly charge huge sums of money for collaborations, I don’t really think about the money. So, I don’t charge for collaborations. The only thing that impresses me is the work and the song I have been asked to feature on”.
OJ also revealed that he has never had any issue with anyone regarding money but the only thing most people complain about is his time. He said that he mostly snubs musicians or people who intend to waste his time.
When asked about featuring secular artists, OJ disclosed that he will love to work with Akwaboah, Kuami Eugene, Kidi, Mzvee, Kofi Kinaata, King Promise, and former musician Raquel.
Minister OJ also revealed that his assignment in the Gospel music fraternity is different from what other gospel musicians do in the country.
OJ stated that when he was ready to venture into the Ghanaian music industry, Gospel music to be precise, he prayed to God to show him a path or a trend he should go and truly, God revealed a path to him which is so different from what most of the Gospel musicians in the country do.
He mentioned that his kind of music although are categorized as Gospel songs, the main motive behind most of his songs is to motivate and inspire rather than following the trend of most Gospel songs in Ghana.
OJ further disclosed that due to his different style of music, he has a broad fan base in the Muslim community in Ghana and that alone shows how different his songs are from other Gospel musicians in the country.
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