“Many African Music Legends Don’t Document Their Lives” – Kojo Antwi
Highlife legend Kojo Antwi launches memoir The Journey, urging African musicians to document their lives for future generations
- The veteran highlife musician releases The Journey to chronicle his life and career.
- He highlights the need for African music legends to document their stories for posterity
- Kojo Antwi created the book after finding limited written material on African music icons during his formative years
Veteran Ghanaian highlife musician Julius Kojo Antwi, widely known as Kojo Antwi or “Mr. Music Man,” has highlighted a worrying trend among Africa’s music legends.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, February 12, 2026, Kojo Antwi said the scarcity of written accounts by iconic musicians inspired him to publish his own memoir, The Journey.
“As a musician, I express myself through my songs. What people see in newspapers or at events is just a snippet. Someone like Nana Ampadu should have written a book, but there was nothing,” he noted.
Recalling his early years, Kojo Antwi said he had hoped to read about some of Africa’s greatest artists but found very little material available.
“When I wanted to become a musician, I wanted to read about Osibisa, Hugh Masekela though he only wrote later in life or Agya Koo Nimo, who is more of a lecturer. There was nothing to guide me,” he explained.
This gap in documentation motivated him to share his own story.
“Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to meet the giants of African music, yet many of them never wrote about themselves. I felt it was necessary to put my journey into a book for future generations,” Kojo Antwi added.
Kojo Antwi is set to officially launch his memoir, Mr. Music Man: The Journey, on Friday, February 13, 2026, at the Labadi Beach Hotel, giving fans and music enthusiasts an intimate look at his life and career.
