Ghana mourns highlife great Kwadwo Akwaboah

The news of his death was confirmed by his son, Gladstorm Akwaboah Jnr, who is also a well-known highlife artist. In a social media post, Gladstorm mourned the loss of his father, saying “RIP, Dad.”

Kwadwo Akwaboah comes from a long line of accomplished musicians. His father, Kwabena Akwaboah, was a renowned highlife act and mentor to many of Ghana’s great musicians. Kwadwo himself was a multi-instrumentalist and was associated with the popular Oheneba Ntim Barima Band. He was widely recognised for his hit song ‘Awerekyekyere.’

Thirteen years ago, while living and working in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Kwadwo Akwaboah was diagnosed with glaucoma, which eventually led to the loss of vision in both of his eyes. Despite this, he continued to contribute to the music scene and collaborated with several prominent Ghanaian musicians.

In recent years, Kwadwo Akwaboah had the opportunity to work closely with his son, Gladstorm. Together, they released a remix of the song ‘Awerekyekyere’ in 2020 and collaborated on another remix of the track ‘Face To Face’ in 2021. 

Following the news of his passing, condolences have poured in from his fellow musicians and fans on social media, with artists such as Kofi Kinaata and Adina expressing their sympathies to the Akwaboah family during this difficult time.

Veteran Ghanaian broadcaster Kofi Okyere Darko eulogised Kwadwo Akwaboah as an exceptional vocalist who blessed the world with his soulful music, much like his father and his son Gladstorm.