Olivetheboy, a rising star in Ghana’s Afrobeat scene, recently talked about a difficult time in his music career when his mother allegedly tried to have him arrested because she didn’t like the direction he was taking.
The “Goodsin” hitmaker said that his parents had first discouraged his passion in music, advising him to place a higher priority on his schooling and his spiritual life in an interview with Jason El-A on MX24TV.
“When I was doing freestyles, they were really blowing up. People were reaching out at that time. And I was like, ‘Mom, you see, I can do this.’ And she was like, ‘Bro, focus on your school. You’re from a Christian home,’ all that stuff,” he shared.
Despite his parents’ disapproval, Olivetheboy pursued music without their knowledge. When they uncovered his secret, his mother threatened to call the cops and have him arrested.
“Yeah. I was like, I’ll do that. We bought forms for school. So I was waiting till I got to school, but in my head, I was like, the moment I step in school, I’m doing music. But she did not know. So I just started the first time my first EP came out, she called me, and then she told me she’s going to get me arrested because she did not want me to do it. I should focus on school. She’s going to get the people that put me on arrest and stuff. I was like, ‘Mom, you’re not going to do that. You love me too much to do that,’” he recalled.
Olivetheboy admitted that he understood his mother’s point of view, as well as her wish for him to employ his talents in more conventional and stable job paths.
“But it was quite heart-breaking. But I knew why she was doing that. I knew why she was doing that because I was quite good with books, and she felt I could do something better with school than yeah,” He stated.
The singer also stated that he and his parents continue to fight about his career choices, albeit they are progressively coming to terms with his musical journey.
Joel Ofori Bonsu, popularly known as Olivetheboy, rose to prominence in May 2023 when the song ‘Goodsin’ from his album Avana began trending on TikTok. He is now signed to Loop Music.
