Rie Osei Discloses Studying Data Analytics Confirmed Music Was Her Calling

Ghanaian singer-songwriter Rie Osei has revealed that studying data analytics at university helped her realise that music, not mathematics, was the career she wanted to pursue.

Speaking on Culture Daily on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM, the singer said she initially wanted to study music or film but was encouraged by her parents to pursue a more conventional academic path.

“When I was going to uni, I wanted to study music, that or film. And they were like, no. My parents were like, Do something real,” she said.

As a result, Osei enrolled in a data analytics programme and majored in mathematics, a subject she said came naturally to her.

“I’m great at math. So I don’t think it was tough. I’m really good at math,” she said.

However, despite performing well academically, she said she gradually realised that a career in the field would not bring her long-term fulfilment.

“I got to like my second, third year and I was like this isn’t what I want to do, and I don’t think a lifetime of this would be fulfilling for me.”

The singer said balancing her studies with her growing passion for songwriting became increasingly difficult.

“I’d be in class literally taking notes. My mind would go somewhere. I’m like, Let me write this lyric quickly. By the time I look up again, the instructor is on a different lesson. I don’t know where I am.”

The experience, she said, forced her to confront what she truly wanted from life.

“I literally had to tell myself, you know you have to be real with yourself.”

Rie explained that writing became a way of understanding her experiences and emotions beyond romantic relationships.

While many of her earlier songs focused on love, she deliberately challenged herself to explore broader themes.

“There was a period where I literally had to tell myself, no more love songs,” she said.

According to her, stepping away from relationship-centred songwriting helped sharpen her creative skills.

“When you take out the love and the relationships, and you’re actually writing about what you’re going through, it forces you to dig deeper.”

The musician said her inspiration comes largely from life experiences, describing herself as an artiste whose work is rooted in emotion but expressed through abstract ideas and layered storytelling.

She recently released Simon Says, the lead single from an upcoming project, which explores themes of control, perception and emotional vulnerability.

The song marks the beginning of what she describes as a more personal and cohesive body of work.

“I’m telling my full story in the project,” she said.