Bisa Kdei says he is ‘the best songwriter’ after reflecting on his own lyrics

Ghanaian highlife musician Bisa Kdei says he considers himself one of the best songwriters, admitting that he is sometimes surprised by the meaning and depth of his own work.

The ‘Mansa’ hitmaker said some of his songs contain such layered lyrics that he cannot always fully explain them, even after writing and recording them.

Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM, he named ‘Samina’ as a song that continues to challenge his own understanding.

“Recently I even said I am the best songwriter because sometimes I listen to myself and I’m like, ‘Oh wow, so I really wrote this?’ A song like ‘Samina’, even I can’t really decode the song properly because I really wrote that song,” he said.

His remarks came after the interviewer highlighted the use of metaphor and storytelling in his Twi songs. Those elements, the interviewer suggested, often require listeners to pay close attention before the full meaning becomes clear.

Bisa Kdei agreed that storytelling is central to his music, but said Twi was not the language he first spoke while growing up.

He explained that he was born and raised in Labadi, an area where Ga is widely spoken, and that this shaped his fluency in Ga. He also said his family has roots in Larteh.

“I am a storyteller, but one thing too is that I don’t even speak Twi properly. I was born amongst Gas. I was born in Labadi, so I speak Ga very well and I’m from Larteh,” he explained.

The musician said his mother often spoke Ga to him and his siblings at home. His father, however, made sure they also learned and used Larteh.

That upbringing meant Bisa Kdei grew up speaking Ga fluently and learning Larteh alongside it, despite the prominent role Twi has played in his songwriting.

His comments offer an explanation for the distinctive use of language and imagery in his Twi compositions, which often combine narrative elements with meanings that he says can remain difficult even for him to decode.