By Nana Kojo Mula
While everyone was isolating during the much-dreaded COVID-19 period, one of the things that kept the world together was music. Not just any music, but music that brought comfort, music that brought relief, music that strengthened our hope, and music that kept us entertained. Amid all the music churned out, a young university girl who had just started making music with her cousin was warming her way into the hearts of listeners. Born Jemima Baaba Haywood-Dadzie, Baaba J’s soft rock, pop, and hip-hop music set her apart from what was popular in the industry.
Her music hinges on family, friendship, self-love, confidence, unity, and community. She moves you from an activism-centered song (Black or White) to a song that boosts your self-love and self-esteem (Tomboy/Intro) and finally leaves you in a soft emotional state, longing for the warmth of love and companionship (Forever).
First, it is the calmness of her production; then, she wins over with her brilliant writing and sweet melodies. Dropping her debut project, Lumumba St., barely a year into her career, Baaba J set the course for what has been an exciting five-year career in the making, five years she described as being just a prelim. “From my first to my third tape, ‘In Pursuit of Happiness’ feels like my prelims into the type of career I want.”
On a hot Accra Monday afternoon, I catch up with Baaba J for a conversation on her career thus far, family, her project, and community, among other things. I kick things off by quizzing her about her earlier comments about the past five years of her career being just a prelim. “I was only recording and releasing between 2020 and about 2021. But it was in the latter part of 2021 that I felt my career might have started. I remember performing at JayClliff’s event and then at Palm Moments’ Open Mic. But I feel like all that was preparation for my career, which just started.”
As someone who has been following her career for some time, I find this statement very shocking, but after listening to her explanation, I can’t help but agree with her.
“Some artists just come up with their friends, like I did with my cousin Merk, and some people are discovered and go through some training. I had to go through all my developments over these years in public. My EPs have been a self-exploration journey, and I have learned a lot about myself and figured out what I wanted to do. But I guess now I am in a period where, when I look back, it is like, okay, I did all those things to be able to do what I am yet to do, if that makes sense.”
Growing up, it could take years before an artist could put out music. First, they had to attract a producer, investor, label, or manager with connections. If they were lucky enough to get signed or picked up by someone, they were taken through some grooming, media training, vocal training, and performance classes, among other things, and then presented to the world as a finished product ready to take on the world.
But that was not the case for Baaba J. Like her peers, she only had her cousin, her talent, and the will to make music. I still remember where I was and how I felt the first time I heard her music. I remember my surprise when I realized this was music by a raw, talented university student. Perhaps her trajectory as someone who grew up in the full glare of the listeners made it easier for people to connect with her music and jump on the train.
A quick walk through Baaba J’s socials will show you just how strong her followership is. She may be young, but she has earned a strong, dedicated audience who continues to show up and grow with her as her career goes on the up and up. “I was lucky to have a community early on in my career. I feel there are two types of community every artist needs.”
Clarifying what she meant by having two types of community, she said, “The first is the audience, which I feel was a gift to me. I didn’t have to work so hard to earn the love and support. Everybody was just open and ready to support, and I count myself very lucky to have that. It’s good to define yourself so your audience knows exactly why they are with you.”
“The second community is a community of your colleagues, which is very important. I’ve been an introvert most of my life; I like to work alone and do my thing, but when I had my community colleagues, it helped me a lot. As an artist, you need to speak to other artists, other producers, or anybody in the game. I do not think you need to be friends with other musicians because you just want to make music. That should be the last thing. I think you learn so much from such people on their journey.”
Listening to her music over the years, one thing that will catch your attention is the different sounds and genres she dabbles in. However, regardless of the genre, one thing that stays true is her writing and her ability to put together a great story. “When I start the song by myself, it really turns out very folky until it changes to something else based on what I work out with my producer. It ends up like a highlife song, a rock song, or an Afro-influenced song. On other occasions, I meet up with the producer, and they play a bunch of their songs for me, and then I go off in their direction.
But at my core, I’m really just a songwriter. I could go off any beat and in any direction. Any genre that’s put in front of me, as long as I like it. At the end of the day, most of the songs have a particular feel, which is from the way I like to express myself, and then the genre comes from other things.”
By her sophomore EP, “Okay Baby, Let’s Do This,” Baaba J had leaned into her highlife roots. One other thing that made her an exciting talent was her singing in Ga. For many, Ga was not a language they understood, but how Baaba J sang in the language felt like something they understood. Surprisingly, her song 227, which was sung strictly in Ga, is one of her best-performing songs, even though a good number of her listeners neither speak nor understand the language. A sign that music has its own language.
Like her music, Baaba J is an outspoken individual who has always added her voice to issues. If she is not addressing these issues in her songs, she is tweeting about it. She is doing so on Instagram, in interviews, or by joining others on the street to protest. “It is very important to me because, as a person, that’s just how I am. I would hardly speak, but if there’s something going on I don’t like, I will go all guns blazing on it.”
But unlike others, Baaba does not speak on issues because she has to. She tells me that it is not even about using her art and her platform to represent people and speak up for people, but she is not someone who shies away from speaking on issues. But she does agree that if you have an audience, you need to speak up on issues. “People take the time to listen to you even if they don’t like the message, just because it comes from someone they might like. They will listen to you before they decide whether to use what you shared or not.”
From her first project, Baaba J has been someone who has spoken against injustice and discrimination and encouraged people to treat others with love, compassion, and care. So, it never surprises me when I see her speak up on issues.
In 2023, during the #OccupyJulorbi protest, Baaba J not only showed up and protested, but she also took the mic to speak on the issues affecting citizens that warranted the protest. Unfortunately, there was some pushback from some people. She stated that she was unbothered about it all. “I cannot be bothered at all, but I remember sending a bunch of videos about me and the things I spoke about. I spoke about the bill, national service, personal things, and other people. I see a lot of things, but I can’t even really tell because I just muted all of it. I closed the Twitter app, and then I just waited for it to pass.”
I divert the conversation and try to get a clearer picture of who Baaba J is away from the music and the lights of the stage. She laughs but quickly tells me, “From the beginning, it’s a lot of Jemima. So, the writing of the music. what I’m influenced by, and all of that is Jemima. When I am on stage, I’m a different person. I have to bring the energy because I think Baaba J definitely has more energy than Jemima.”
Still on the road of diversion, we make a stop at awards. With the Ghana Music Awards ceremony happening next month, I pick her thoughts on awards in general and why she feels she has not received a nomination despite the work she has done over the last few years. “I think I’m indifferent about awards. I only realize it is award period when the nominations have gone out, and I’m just like, Oh s***, this is happening. Sometimes, I also feel these awards do not really pay attention to the emerging artists’ space, and there are times I feel the awards do not fully represent what has gone on in the year.”
She is not alone in her assessment of the awards, especially on the point that the scheme is not paying attention to the artist’s space. There have been several comments on how the board and academy need to redefine the awards structure to make room for the growing soundscape of the industry. Despite her concerns, Baaba is looking forward to a day when she will not only be nominated but also win an award at the TGMAs.
“I do feel it will be great to be awarded in your country. Everybody wants to get a Grammy, and I personally want to get a Grammy, but I also think that one of the best things is to be recognized by your own people, which is one of the hardest things to do. Sometimes you are recognized by your people, and the world does not recognize you, or you are recognized by the world and not by your people.”
After a few diversions, we zoom back into our conversation. Still, this time, I follow up on my earlier comments about how her sound and sonic identity are essential at a time when African musicians keep getting boxed into the Afrobeats bracket off the back of how successful the genre has become.
While her music, especially her first EP, had no Afrobeats influence, she acknowledged its influence on her subsequent projects. Okay, Baby, Let’s Do This” and “In Pursuit of Happiness. “I wanted to see what it’s like to play with Afrobeats and still retain my style. And I think I have more of an idea of how I want to make music with Afrobeats without changing my style. I think you’ll be able to tell when I’m doing Afrobeats and then when I’m not.”
In December 2023, Baaba J held her debut concert in Accra, a sold-out concert, and I remember being in the front row and seeing all those people gathered there, singing back to her anytime she took the mic to perform. This was an experience I hoped I would relive in 2024, but unfortunately, she did not host any shows.
In February of 2025, she would release a live recording of In Pursuit of Happiness. The project felt like the concert we never got in 2024, and when she asked about it, she said, “The live version idea came from me wanting to do a listening session live. Instead of having people just sit there, play the song, and talk about it, I’d like to perform it live. We were like, okay, if we do it live, then we can record it, we can have videos of it, and then we can even upload them because it is a live version.”
“Around that time, Raye had performed her album My 21st Century Symphony (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) with an orchestra, and then she uploaded the whole thing. And I was like, this is exactly what I want to do. So that was what inspired me. Making the live version of the tape really made me fall back in love with the songs, and I always wanted to perform with the choir. So, I’m happy that I could do it.”
Five years and three EPs into her career, Baaba J believes she finds herself in a very lucky position. The music industry has its high moments, but the lows can be very hard-hitting. How you deal with everything thrown at you, be it high or low, goes a long way to shaping your trajectory as an artist. She believes that as artists, you need to speak with other artists, especially people who are doing the things that you want to do, because it helps you with your decisions and keeps you in check.
“When I started making music, I was still young, and comparing then to now, I think now I have time to plan, execute, sit back, and see how things are going, and then figure out what I can do better. I’ve had the opportunity to be in contact with artists who started way before me, and I can talk to them and learn from them. I think speaking to other artists gives me perspectives. I feel we need to get to a point where artists make a career out of music without having a hit every year. And that’s what I really want to make out of my career. Make it a fully sustainable career.”
I ask her about collaborations, having noticed that she has a handful of them. For Baaba J, collaborations start only when the energy between artists aligns, and the timing has to be right. She had good things to say about her work with Juma Mufasa and Kwesi Soul and appreciated Moliy, who availed herself when she and her team reached out to her to make All of You as part of a Spotify women’s initiative.
“B4bonah’s collaboration had to happen. Some artists collaborate just for the sake of doing it, and there are those who really mean it. When we were speaking, we really meant it, and we found the right time and went to the studio, and we made, like, two songs together. The whole point is that I like to make music with people I get along with or with whom our energies align. Unfortunately, not everybody goes together, and sometimes you don’t have to force it.“
We had to end the conversation, but not before I asked her about her Nigeria trip last year, which she described in one word as “energy.” “I performed at FemFest in Nigeria, but one thing I will say is that everyone came with their energy. It was a roster of different artists, but everyone came fully confident. We do not take up too much space as Ghanaians, and I feel we should learn that. Nigerians love to hustle, and they do not wait till something happens. Everybody is making moves, and I think that’s also what I’ve learned: I want to do more of that.”
She leaves me with news of some exciting things in the pipeline. “What I’m doing this year is I’m focusing on writing a lot. I’m focusing on my first album, which should be available maybe next year or in the next two years, but I am going to dedicate myself to getting it right. The direction and the right collaborations. So, I’m just taking time away to focus on that, and I’ll do a few shows. I also want to do some merch, but I am focused on working on the album.”
We may not have gotten a concert last year, but we can look forward to not just a concert in the coming months, but merch and an album. I leave the conversation excited about what is to come.
