Veteran highlife musician Akosua Agyapong has opened up about a defining moment early in her music career, revealing that she refused a substance offered to her just before stepping onto the stage for her first major performance.
Speaking in an interview on Joy Prime on July 13, 2026, the celebrated singer recounted the experience, which happened backstage at the Arts Centre in Accra ahead of a show attended by more than 1,000 people.
According to Akosua Agyapong, the leader of the band she was set to perform with was going around offering members of his team a liquid from a bottle using a small cup. He later approached her with the same offer.
“He had something in a bottle. He had a small cup. He went around giving it to his team. Then he came to me and said, ‘Take this, it will ginger you and help you perform well,'” she recalled.
The singer said she immediately declined.
Recalling her response, she said she took the band leader aside, drew back the stage curtains slightly and pointed to her mother, who was seated in the audience.
“I told him, ‘You see the woman sitting in the audience there, that’s my mum. I cannot disappoint her.’
“I have performed in front of 6,000 students. So I’m not shy, and I can perform,” she told him.
She eventually took to the stage without drinking the substance and completed her performance.
Looking back on the incident decades later, Akosua Agyapong said the experience carries an important lesson for young entertainers, noting that similar pressure still exists in the creative industry.
“Whatever you start with, you end with it. People introduce them to some things. The musicians, the actors, the actresses, some of them, their managers will say, ‘Oh, you have to do this or you’ll be this. You have to wear this or you’ll be this.’ No. Say no. Because the God that gave you that talent will see you through,” she advised.
