South Australia’s Ghanaian Born sensational performing artist and musician Bortier Okoe has been selected to perform his recent single ‘Mama Africa’ at the opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Egypt in June 2019.
Speaking to Salt Magazine Bortier said it is an exciting moment for him and his home country Ghana which will be participating in the tournament. “It’s a proud moment for me to perform for my Mama Africa”.
Reflecting on his childhood days Bortier said he grew up in in an environment where music is part of everyday life. He said he uses his music as a communication tool to raise awareness about some of the problems facing the African continent.
“But it’s not just about identifying the problems through music but using the music to encourage positive change.
My music is for the betterment of our communities, it’s for everybody, I write music to advise people, to make people happy about themselves, for instance, I’ll thank the fishermen, I’ll also sing about the environment”.
According to Bortier the inspiration for his recent single ‘Mama Africa’ comes from his yearning for a united Africa. “I always feel like the unity is there, but there is distraction taking us away from the unity. Mama Africa’s message is to remind us that we are from the same place, so we should work together and have love for one another”.
Coming from the Ga tribe in Ghana Bortier describe his music as Ga roots. “My music is universal, with my music you hear different sounds, jazz, reggae, African, and I see my music as a collection of my experience playing music with a diverse range of musician in my lifetime”.
Bortier’s message for young aspiring African artists is music is not all about flashy cars and women. “If you want to be a musician you need to know what you are doing, what you stand for and you should think about what you say because it can influence others”.
It was great talking with Bortier and we look forward to seeing him on the main stage at the opening ceremony of the African Nations Cup soccer tournament in Egypt.
For more info about Bortier and his performance tours visit his website.
