Boy Doe Rejects Pressure To Stick To One Genre

Ghanaian musician Boy Doe has rejected pressure on artistes to restrict themselves to a single genre, arguing that musicians should have the freedom to explore different sounds and subjects in their work.

Boy Doe said he sees himself as an “instrument” who makes music based on what he feels rather than limiting himself to one particular style.

“I think I’m like an instrument. So, I do what I feel and music is you have to do what you feel,” he said on the Morning Bite segment of Culture Daily on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9FM.

He said he has faced criticism from people who have told him to stick to rap or another specific style, but he does not believe an artist should be restricted to one genre.

Boy Doe also questioned what he described as a double standard in the way certain subjects are treated in music compared with film and comedy.

He said artistes can be criticised for addressing violence, crime or other controversial subjects in songs, even though similar themes are widely accepted in films.

“You watch Sylvester Stallone. You watch all these action movies, Game of Thrones. People are being cut. Is that more dangerous than mine or my lyrics are more dangerous?” he asked.

For Boy Doe, the issue is not simply about using offensive language but about allowing artistes the creative freedom to tell stories and express ideas through music.

He said Ghana’s music environment has developed boundaries around what artistes can say, particularly during freestyle performances, even though hip-hop and other musical traditions allow broader forms of expression.

“The culture that we got it from, there’s no boundary. So it makes all the artistes sing a certain way or sing a certain kind of songs,” he said.

He argued that these restrictions can encourage artistes to repeatedly focus on familiar subjects such as money, women and cars instead of exploring a wider range of themes.

Boy Doe also compared music with comedy, saying audiences understand that certain subjects may be used for creative purposes in a comedy setting but are often less accepting when similar ideas appear in music.

He said the wider issue was a need for more openness towards different forms of artistic expression.

“There’s a big hypocrisy gap that has to be closed,” he said.

Boy Doe said he intends to continue making music on his own terms. He said he currently has several singles in production and releases music regularly on platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.