My Mirror Inspires Me - Philipa Baafi

Most gospel musicians, as well as the secular ones, have various ways of putting their lyrics together. Some pray to God, others fast, while others spend days and nights on the mountain praying for God?s guidance in their work.

But for Philipa Baafi, one of Ghana?s most exciting gospel musicians, no matter the length of time she prays to God, nothing comes her way. However, she has her own peculiar way of putting together lyrics for her songs.

According to her, what she normally did was to look into the mirror with intense concentration, rendering thanks to God for creating her the way He did.

?Whenever I did this, as if by magic the lyrics begin to flow with cheeky ease,? she said.

Philipa said she had tried that method several times and it had worked to perfection, adding that since 2002 when she came out with her maiden album, Mogya nakasa, she had used that method to great advantage.

She followed Mogya nakasa with Okyeso Nyame in 2003, Yesu ye me last stop, which shot her to fame, in 2004 and her current one, Agye Nyame, which was released in February this year.

Because of Philipa?s fondness of the mirror, which she claimed gave her the true reflection of her image, her close pals have nicknamed her ?The Mirror Lady?.

She confided in The Mirror that all her life depended on the mirror and because of that she had no hobby. What she did in her leisure was grab a mirror and stare into it as if her survival depended on that crave.

According to Philipa, who started singing at the Bantama Methodist Church in Kumasi, she discovered her potential at the tender age of nine. At that age, she did not confine her singing activities to her church alone.

There were times when she went to churches in Kumasi and its environs to do some renditions.

She continued singing, this time in a more polished and captivating style, when she entered the St Monica?s Secondary School at Asante Mampong in 1996.

After her SSS, she enrolled at the FC Institute of Beauty Therapy to study Physiology and Anatomy. On completion, she proceeded to Cologne, Germany, to pursue further studies in beauty therapy for three months.

According to Philipa, her childhood dream was to become a medical doctor but that ambition was jettisoned very early in her life when she lost both parents in rapid succession.

She disclosed that her ambition had been rekindled and that she was working towards achieving the goal of becoming a medical officer.

She is hopeful of going back to school, particularly so, after she has been assured by her fianc? who had promised to support her to fulfil her childhood dream.

At the moment, Philipa doubles as a musician and a beauty therapist. She has a shop in Kumasi and several assistants who help her in her work. She is preparing feverishly to get married to a radio station manager in July.

Philipa was born in Kumasi on May 15, 1980, the first of three children born to Ms Grace Acheampong, a trader, and Mr Akwasi Baafi, who was domiciled in Germany, both of blessed memory.

She started school at the Kings International School, before continuing at St Monica?s, where she was the Girls? Prefect, the President of the Scripture Union and the Science Club.

Philipa is full of gratitude to her aunt, Ms Felicia Acheampong, who took care of her and her two siblings when their parents died.

She has gospel divas, Amy Newman of Ghana and Rebecca Malopi of South Africa, as her local and international role models respectively.

She worships at the Lighthouse Chapel in Kumasi and is grateful to her numerous fans for their loyalty.