Started out his musical career in 2011, Osifo-Whiskey Michael aka Whiskey is Nigerian born songwriter, entrepreneur, recording and performing artiste. Born first into a family of 4 children, whiskey began composing songs at age 7 where he would frequently sit his younger siblings down to sing along to the choruses he basically put together off hand from his acquainted sub-conscious state.

Whiskey recounts consciously falling in love with music after an incident at age 10, the young scholar had just been enrolled in secondary school as a boarding student and being the first time to live outside home without his parents and siblings, whiskey recounts feeling lonely and crying all day through the night to even waking up sober the next day but eager to have a great secondary school experience, just before assembly time whiskey had walked into the music room where he heard a senior student “Damola” play the Paino, it was at this very moment whiskey perceived the emotional power of music and its ability to instantly bring relief, comfort, healing & solace to the soul. Hence, he fell in love with music.

His love for music often grew while growing up in the boarding house as he recalls witnessing a friend sneak a disc-man player into school where he admits being influenced to music by artists like R Kelly, Nate Dogg and Eminem. whiskey also recount saving up money to buy music albums which were in form of CDs back then, all this experience helped shaped his taste and interest in music more but Whiskey wasn’t recording no music up until 2011. As a Central university student of Ghana whiskey got inspired to begin recording after he got on campus and had come across a course mate “Ricky” who already at that time had a record, he explains with a laugh “I had just walked into campus as a foreign student when I came across Ricky, first day I met him he played me his song, it was at that moment everything changed about how I took music, because that encounter made me realize it was actually possible to transform all those choruses and rhymes I had always written down in my music book to real recorded & produced songs, I got back that day and began calling Nigeria to disturb my mother to send me money for my studio recordings, at first she was skeptical and worried as to how I’ll manage my accounting programme alongside the music but as always my ever supportive mom sent me recording funds and at my first ever studio session I had recorded 3 songs which gave me my first radio plays on Hits FM, Ghana as well as rapid recognition across campus and few shows and gigs across campus, so yes for me I’ll say my music career kicked off in 2012 while an accounting student in Ghana.

By 2014, Whiskey had completed his first studio album titled ‘FEMININE’. An Afrocentric album influenced by his partnership with Ghanaian producers, but why Feminine? he explains “then I was in my early 20s and felt deeply inspired by the opposite gender, I named the nine-track album feminine in dedication to the indispensable role played by African ladies & women all across the globe with absolute appreciation and admiration”.

The first album had hit singles like Mama Africa, for my baby & marry her. Also doing well getting airplay, gigs & shows but Whiskey claims he was happy with the progress but wasn’t feeling as fulfilled as he wished, due to the fact he was not yet getting Nigerian fans as well as having to remain studious to graduate from university due to his promise to his parents. By 2016 whiskey was done with his programme, moved back to Nigeria and rapidly started to associate more with Nigerian producers & managers in aspiration to make a name within the Nigerian music industry, by 2018 whiskey had started working with hit-making Nigerian producers like Luush, Banell & TG Omori.

He further explained some challenges he encountered within the Industry such as the higher capital intensity working in Nigeria compared to Ghana as well as the difference in sound production, projections and promotions which prompted him to slow down and do more networking & studying within the industry, another significant challenge he highlighted was the mismanagement of artiste career funds and inflation of prices and cost by Nigerian A&R, media guys and other intermediaries in the music industry, Also contributing to a slower pace was the fact they really had no external sponsors and had to slow it up when his younger siblings got foreign admissions and had to be funded heavily by his parents, well he claims he felt sustained when he had his record and video with TG Omori getting airplay across top tier channels like MTV base, HIP TV & EVEN PLANET TV.

In his words “after my first official video started getting airplay, I began getting Nigerian shows which I didn’t yet realize I was already getting the desired progress until I started receiving messages from ex-course mates in Ghana via Facebook telling me they saw me on PLANET TV in Ghana! funny enough a lot of peers who sent me messages never really associated with me while back in Ghana but seeing them contacting me with joy and intending support made me realize the Nigerian journey to stardom had indeed been set in motion”
[af]
No Nigerian album yet but Whiskey kept producing singles amidst the rising cost of production, lack of sponsors, covid-19 interruptions as well as Afrobeat’s constant evolution of sound. But by 2021 he began recording and producing his second Nigerian EP titled “Foreplay” By 2022 the EP was completed, and the very impressive project had hit singles like ‘so bad’ & ‘Girlfriend’, the project noticeably had an admirable blend of organic African rhythms, top-notch beats, melodious tunes & an elegant delivery of verses and versatile choruses.

So far, the initial FOREPLAY project has amassed about half a million plays across the various streaming platforms, its 2023 and foreplay2 is now ready for promotions and seems specifically made to dominate the afrobeat charts, airplay, dancefloors, wedding reception halls, clubs and all celebration grounds. Asking what to expect from this very new project he responds “It’s everything to me, it’s the most mature of all my sounds as I am older, smarter and musically stronger & better, it’s like the zenith of all my craft so far, this new project is beyond a catch up with the evolutionary trend of Afrobeat. It is more like a pacesetter, the 5-track project quite lays emphasis on lovemaking & party vibes, dancehall flows, heartbreak, poetry and Amapiano sounds. Now I feel so adequately ready for promotion of my craft and finally ready to unveil the new unbeatable Afrobeat beast”.