It Took Six Years For The Whole Northern Region To Accept Me - Fancy Gadam

Ghanaian musician Fancy Gadam has said that his rise from a relatively unknown artiste in 2010 to one of the biggest music acts from northern Ghana was the result of years of persistence and gradual growth.

The musician, speaking on the Big Convo segment of the Culture Daily Morning Show on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM, said his breakthrough came in 2016 after he held a major concert at the Tamale Sports Stadium.

Fancy Gadam said his music career began in 2010 when he released his first album, initially targeting the Dagbon community.

According to him, reaching audiences across the northern region was difficult because of the different languages and cultures in the area.

“My first album was in 2010. It was just for the Dagumba community. I mean, Dagbon understood me. So, they were supporting me,” he said.

He said his first performance was unsuccessful because the audience did not understand his music, but he continued working to expand his audience.

“I don’t just give up,” he said, explaining that his real name, Mujahid, means “warrior” or “winner”.

Fancy Gadam said it took about six years of consistent work before he gained acceptance across the northern region.

His journey included performing at increasingly larger venues. He said he moved from Picona Gardens, which had a capacity of about 1,000 people, to venues accommodating about 1,500 to 2,000 people before eventually performing at the Radach Hotel, which could accommodate about 3,000 people.

He said two shows at Radach were so crowded that glasses were broken, prompting fans to challenge him to move to the Tamale Sports Stadium.

Fancy Gadam said he initially doubted whether he could fill the stadium but eventually accepted the challenge.

The 2016 concert became a major turning point in his career, attracting attention beyond northern Ghana and leading to interviews and opportunities in Accra.

Fancy Gadam said the attention eventually led to his first major engagements in Accra, including a concert at the National Theatre.

He said his emergence also challenged the perception that major music activity had to be centred in Accra.

The musician said his success was not based on abandoning his roots but on building a strong audience in northern Ghana before expanding into other parts of the country.

“I believe music, everybody have their favourite type of music. But good music would hit anybody,” he said.

Although he experimented with genres such as trap music in his local dialect when fans asked him to adapt to changing trends, Fancy Gadam said he remained committed to the musical identity that had built his career.

He said the growth of his own career has also contributed to the development of producers and filmmakers in northern Ghana, who have had to improve their work as his standards have grown.

“There’s a lot of talent in the north,” he said, citing musicians, producers and filmmakers working in the region.

Fancy Gadam said he now has a catalogue of songs that can be played across different markets, arguing that the quality of music and production coming from northern Ghana should not be underestimated.