Safo Newman has arguably become the latest music sensation in Ghana, with his Akokoa song currently trending in the top five per Ghana’s Apple Music Charts.

It is equally climbing on other digital music platforms, and the boost from Sarkodie pushed the song further down the throat of music enthusiasts on social media.

The kind gesture by Sarkodie has been criticised, with many urging the Tema-based rapper to stay in his lane, but others have also commended him.

Sarkodie has been known to share the songs of many upcoming artistes, and the critics will simply go unperturbed in his ears.

There is a reason the rapper shared it and possibly might want to jump on another record of the budding musician – just as he blessed many others and shot them into the limelight.

What many don’t know is that Sarkodie has opened up about his childhood, where he said the closing bells of his school always had his heart beating faster.

According to him, he was maltreated at home by his caretaker and that made him timid.

The popular rapper said he was very happy when he was only in school at Mile 7, Accra.

The Highest rapper said loads of house chores among others affected his childhood and not staying with his mother got him depressed and he also looked malnourished.

Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz, Sarkodie said he suffered abuse as a child.

“As a child, I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t get the maltreatment. I didn’t live with my mum, and the real love wasn’t there. One time, I was writing to my mom and I slept off and the woman I was staying with saw the letter.

"She called my mum, and she came over, and I thought I did a bad thing, so I knelt down and begged her and right after mum left, you can imagine what I went through.”

Sarkodie continued, “It was when I was about to complete school that my mom came for me. I was looking tattered. I didn’t have the heart to tell her what I was going through. As a kid, I had no idea and I had to pretend that everything was okay.

This revelation shows how attached Sarkodie is to the lyrics of Safo Newman’s ‘Akokoa’ on social media.  

The song depicted him as a child, and one could easily tell Sarkodie related to every lyric word-by-word.

Undoubtedly, it reminded him of his past and he knew exactly what Safo Newman was talking about because he had been in a similar situation.

For critics, slamming the rapper with the notion that he is trying to overshadow Safo Newman’s glory, there are many reasons to disagree.

Sarkodie’s Otan has generated buzz, but the rapper had to put his promotion on hold to celebrate Safo Newman.

Whereas his ‘Akokoa’ song is currently at number 3 on Ghana’s Apple Music Top 100, Sarkodie’s Otan lingers at number 7.

Critics should rather highlight the effects of child labour across the country since the two musicians are only drawing attention to it.

There are lots of children who might be battling the same situation hence focusing the energy towards that would be better than criticizing Sarkodie.

‘Akokoa’ is a banger, but it calls for more than that. The song is a campaign calling for children whose happiness has been locked away to be free from slavery and hatred from their caretakers and bad parents.