When I met Sonnie Badu for the first time my first words were, “I have been looking for you!” That is so true because Truelife was looking to share the life of Sonnie Agyeman Badu (I bet you didn’t know his full name) with its readers, and as fate will have it we met with him and he obliged to share his story with us.
Just as I expected, he had a very busy schedule but I admired the fact that he was polite, courteous and willing to make time for Truelife. It was almost impossible to find the right time so we had to have his interview over breakfast on the last day of his visit to Accra, en route to the UK. Even though I inconvenienced him, he warmly welcomed me. Thanks to me, he only had very little to eat and we left the table with his omelette untouched! Sorry Sonnie!
Sonnie Badu was born in the UK to Ghanaian Parents, Juliana Agyeman Prempeh and Rev Agyeman Prempeh, former employees of the then National Airline of Ghana, “Ghana Airways”. His dad is now a full time Reverend Minister and his mum owns and runs Blue Sky Travel Agency. Sonnie began his education at Alsyad Academy, (The great Alsyad Academy, as he put it) and then to Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS). As Sonnie recalled memories of his childhood his eyes sparkled and he was so expressive you could feel the emotions of the moments he recalled as follows:
“I was very active in school; I was a Cadet Officer, entertainment prefect, footballer etc. I was a very popular guy in school, and everyone knew me for all the bad reasons. The prefect who punished you for all sort of things including praying! I was part of every juvenile vice that happened in school but was never caught. I was a very good dancer and singer at entertainment events in school. Together with some of my friends we composed some songs which we sang and till date some of our school mates still remember the tunes. I also remember how I would lie to my mum that I was sick and needed money, she would rush to the school and when they were looking for me I would be out of school doing one thing or the other. This annoyed my mum a lot. But she always fell for the trick! Despite being a naughty boy, I was loved by all the teachers in school because my mum was very nice and kind to them”.
Family Values
Sonnie noted that his dad was very strict and brought them up with strong Christian values, which he is grateful to have experienced. He adds that, at the time some of the experiences did not appear great but today they have formed the foundation of his life. “Daddy did not accept lateness for Church” he recalls. “As soon as daddy entered the car he was moving and you must be in church, else… Whenever we were late for church, we would run into the car with our socks, shoes and a comb just so we get in the car before he did!” “Christianity was a tradition at home and even if you were reluctant to follow the regime you had to do it because daddy was so strict you will be punished if you didn’t do the right thing”. You should see the expression on his face as he recounted this. And yet he called it great family times.
We asked Sonnie a few questions to get an insight into his life to bring inspiration to readers.
Are you still following the Christian Tradition from your home?
No! I found Christ for myself
So how did you encounter God? What was the turning point?
My turning point was at secondary school, I collapsed at a Cadet performance where we had the president and other dignitaries present. All I remember was stepping forward to give the salute and the next thing I knew; I was in the hospital, this was the worst time in my life. I really thought I was going to die. I was put on admission and when I woke up, the patient who was by my side had died and this really scared me. I requested to be sent back to school, but my condition got worse and the situation looked so hopeless, so I asked my friend to take me home as I preferred to die at home rather than in school. I can remember that journey on public transport from school to Accra. On arrival I saw my dad with a glass of water in his hands. This slipped out of his hands amidst tears when he saw me. When I was taken to the hospital the doctor could not believe that I was still alive. Apparently a doctor who was a family friend had just died of similar symptoms. It was an infection which caused phlegm’s to block my blood vessels. Lying on my sick bed I had lost all hope and I believed I was going to die. But I put God to the test and made a covenant with him, that if he spared my life, my voice will forever be used for his purpose. And I haven’t looked back till date.
The Process
Sonnie mentioned that after the turning point, came the process of transition. During this transition his mischief did not just disappear, they gradually faded away with time. For a period of time he continued to hang out with his old friends like going out to their usual hangouts, his friends however noticed a difference and started asking questions. Sonnie was no longer the life of the party. He did not participate, but sat back and watched everyone. He mentioned that his life began to change and he started attending Scripture Union (SU) meetings. The junior students became worried and scared because they thought he was there to ridicule them! (I couldn’t help but laugh. Wow! Sonnie must have been really terrible to attract such a reaction). In summary Sonnie said it took sometime to completely depart from his old ways. He then went on to say: “Today my life is a testimony to my friends of what God can do to a man. One of my friends, Pogasty, who was my PIC (Partner in Crime) is still my PIC (Partner in Christ)!”
I asked Sonnie how his ministry in music started and he recounts:
After secondary School I moved to the UK and was living with my sister. I was working at Boots Pharmacy and played the role of a drummer in church. My Pastor at the time, whose name I would like to withhold asked me to quit my job and work for the church fulltime. I decided to do full time ministry wholeheartedly with no salary, provided my rent was paid. This promise was not fulfilled, to my disappointment. During this difficult period my personal belongings comprised of a suit that I wore to every program for two years. My shoes had holes in them and in the winter I would feel so cold. There were countless times when I had no money even for food and had to beg church members and friends so I could have something to eat or travel from one place to the other. I saw all this as part of my transition and remained steadfast in my belief that all would be well. I turned my struggles and hardships into creating a success story, and with regards to the suit, I still have the jacket to date. Every now and then I wear it as a reminder of how far God has brought me.
Things began to take a positive turn in my life when I met Daniel Korsah, he became a mentor that God used to mould my life in a positive way. It was during this period with Daniel Korsah that God gave me the inspiration to write the song “Baba”. Daniel told me I was not ready to record the song. I listened and waited patiently for the right time. Whiles waiting for the right time we made so much money through several businesses we jointly owned. I had enough money to build a custom made house in London which I named Soni’s Court. However, we lost everything due to mismanagement and immaturity. We went our separate ways and I had to find my feet again!
I then met Kwame Yeboah who helped me finish the song Baba. This was a huge challenge because I had no money to pay for Kwame’s services but he offered to help me out. There were times I didn’t eat so I could save to pay some of my bills. When I didn’t have money to catch the bus or buy fuel I would resort to walking to the studio. Due to Kwame’s quest for perfection I had to record the song Baba over fifty (50) times. To the Glory of God the song became a blessing to many and still is.
I have been in Ministry for 15 years but it is in the last four years that God’s hand picked me. I believe everything I went through was preparation for his time. For every person to be truly successful you have to survive the journey through the wilderness.
I am still amazed at what God is doing with me. Recently I performed at the Wembley Arena for the global day of prayer. I am humbled to say that I am the first Black African to minister on that platform. To the glory of God I have shared stages with renowned artists such as Phil Driscoll, Alvin slaughter, Wanita Bynum and many more.
Songs from Sonnie Badu’s latest album Colors of Africa was played at the funeral service for the former president of Ghana, John Evans Attah Mills.
Sonnie has already started work on his next album entitled “When Worshippers gather”
Sonnie Badu is a teacher as well as a preacher and holds conferences and seminars in various places and venues. He mentioned that his conferences were one of the moments when he feels real fulfilment. Christianity is so much fun, and when people see tangible manifestation of Gods power, then people will give credibility to Christianity.
Talking to Sonnie Badu was so easy; he had no airs around him, which is unusual of most successful and famous people.
I asked Sonnie why he made things so easy?
He said: “When Jesus heard that people were being prevented from seeing him, he told the disciples to let them come to him. Humility is paramount and will take you far, it’s Gods requirement, when you humble yourself he lifts you up.”
Yes I asked the Million Dollar Question, Are you married?
“I am not married yet but making plans to tie the knot soon”! So now we know he is taken!
Sonnie concluded his interview saying, “I have not started yet, God was just preparing me and now is my time to take off. My Mission is to keep divinity and humanity together. People must be able to play our songs in their moments of trouble and feel the power of God work through them. It’s a promise that even when we are not there our songs will keep people going.”
Awards Won by Sonnie Badu
- AFRICA GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS 2011: Best Event Of The Year 2011, Best Male Artist 2011
- GUBA AWARDS 2010: Best Musician 2010
- AFRICA GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS 2010: Best Male Contemporary Artiste 2010, Best Song, Best Album
- AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS 2010: Best African Gospel 2010
- EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS 2010: Best Gospel Artiste 2010, Best Song, Best Album
- BEFFTA MUSIC AWARDS 2009: BEFFTA Awards Best Gospel Act 2009
- UK GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS 2009: Best Male Artiste 2009
Businesses: Clothing Line, Investment Company owned with two partners, I worship magazine, Author of 10 books, Ambassador for Compassionate Kids Charity with 15 kids on sponsorship.
