O SOUL SEARCHING RIDDIMS FROM THE HEART OF BELIGIUM


Prince Kwankye Pong is a Ghanaian musician based in Belgium. The enthusiasm with which he responds to questions, very vibrant and articulate on his style of music, which he says is blend between afro-pop and afro-beats listening to the likes of Kojo Antwi, legendary Ghanaian musician and the Godfather of R&B, R Kelly for most of his time, since taking the music business professionally. He has found his path by incorporating some artistic techniques employed by these legends into his song writing.

The budding Ghanaian artist has carved a name for himself, and it is one that he hold dear on his journey to stardom. This explains why his music has the appeal to easily warm the heart of listeners on a soul searching journey.

Detailing his experience so far, in an interview with RKMG Journalist Zayabingi, Prince said his love for music began at a younger age while in Primary school. His teachers encouraged him to sing because he has a beautiful voice and that has motivated him since, starting very early with his love for gospel music and his transition to do more of the soul and R&B tunes he does now with the infusion of Afro-beat and a little bit of reggae dancehall to gel well.

His current album titled ‘BEAUTIFUL which is streaming live on the various online music platforms exhibits his diversity and great music talent. It captures his struggle and journey as a youth footballer from Ghana, his experiences in life and romance. Princes positively exploit encounters he has had with people and his environment in his music and songwriting. Each track on the collections tells a story and what makes them worth listening is the daring nature he delivers his vocals. He understands music, after joining a couple of music bands in Belgium to keep his aspiration and music career afloat, he has finally taken the step to venture out on his solo career, churning out beautiful songs track after track. He said he gained his popularity in the Belgium music scene after performing the works of a couple of people, notably one being a university performance which went viral.

He produced another Ghanaian song which also received much attention, receiving premium studio interview from Studio Brussels a local radio station interested in learning more about the meaning of his song and what inspired the song ‘Odo Me Si Ma Fiwo’ which literally means ‘Love I say I Miss You’. Through that he has worked with some of the finest Djs in the country. ‘It’s good to work with a producer and a Dj to carry your talents forward,’ Prince says, and through that he has had a lot of exposure in the music scene within the country.

On the inspiration behind his song ‘Hard Times’ he said in this life sometimes relationships don’t work, and from the experiences of some of his friends and his own experiences he believes there are hard times but the best option is to stay strong and weather the storm. This is what inspired the song, he said, ‘I put all that into retrospective and wrote that song.
Asked what he is currently working on and how he sees his career going forward a decade from now, Prince said he just launched his current album so he is busy with promotion- and receiving good feedback with 37k top streaming and raking in 18k subscribers on the first day and almost 2k followers. Last month he produced the visuals for one of the songs ‘In the Bag’ which he has remixed with another great Ghanaian artist. The remix has made raves in the US, Europe and even in Asia with calls from other artists in Singapore who want to work with him. Prince produces most of his music himself in his home studio, where he is working to help other young acts to hone their talents. He does all his mastering himself and still has time for family, his lovely wife and 2 kids. He believes the future is bright. He is working on other catalogues yet to be put together with more unrecorded songs.

Talking about living in Belgium, he said as a professional footballer he was in the country to play for one of the most established and successful teams in the world, Anderlecht but unfortunately for him he got injured in a very promising career. He received welfare from some Ghanaians living in the country and the Belgian government has supported him. He was in the Netherlands to continue football but returned to Belgium to do both music and play soccer. For him working is paramount to sustaining his family in the country, he keeps a job and pursues his dream.