Ghanaian afrobeats star Kelvyn Boy has disclosed his intention to take Ghana to the Grammys and plans on how he is working towards achieving this goal.
Ghana has been represented at the Grammys on several occasions – reggae star Rocky Dawuni is the first to receive a nod; afrobeats star Fuse ODG and afro-dancehall star Stonebwoy have both received credits from The Recording Academy over their collaborations with nominees – but Kelvyn Boy wants to go the extra mile.
He told Billboard Magazine in his debut feature that he is on a mission, and his mission is: “I want to take Ghana to the Grammys.”
The “Momo” hitmaker also shared his musical journey and how his father influenced his career.
He said his father sang in the choir and raised him on gospel, reggae greats like Lucky Dube and country music, which Kelvyn Boy says shares many of the same chord progressions as church music.
The former Burniton Music Group (BMG) signee – a record label owned by Stonebwoy – detailed that he started performing genre-spanning covers at local Assin Fosu pubs at the age of 19 and noticed how many people would approach him afterwards to ask if he had his music.
He said: “That was when I realized what I could do.”
Despite his father’s push behind his music career, Kelvyn Boy said his father encouraged him to finish his education first. “He was like, ‘You’re not going to get money. I did music and got nothing.’ But I knew what I had and where I was going,” he disclosed.