For a lot of artistes across the world getting the first hit - widely sang, praised and appreciated - takes more than just the release of a song.

However, for musician Becca, her luck shone in an age where people struggled to get recognition in the industry, after her first song ‘You Lied to Me’ was released.

Opening up about her journey leading to the release of the song, Becca in an interview with Quophi Okyeame said that as a young girl, who just turned 21, she did not believe she could have a career as a musician. 

“My parents wanted me to be a lawyer. It was all about wanting to be a lawyer and I went to school to do that,” Becca said.

But because of her love for music, people who knew her knew she could sing. That gateway her friends had into her life served as an opportunity for them to push her into a music career.

Meanwhile, for Becca, having the vocals to thrill your friends at school programs and other minor shows - was not a good recipe for a successful musician.

Despite her resistance to being in the industry, Becca says Reggie Rockstone introduced her to her former manager Kiki Bankson after she returned to Ghana from London.

However, meeting the ever revered Kiki Bankson did nothing to dissuade the young Becca from her decision to go to school and pursue a career in law.

She told Quophi Okyeame that it took meeting the producer and manager about five times at different events to accept an invitation to a studio. 

Creating 'You Lied to Me'

This decision turned out to be the one that set her on the path to being a successful musician.

"So I went to the studio, Mensa of Kubolor was also there. When I went there the instrumental of you lied to me was playing. So, Kiki was trying to test me so he said ‘sing something let’s see’. I wasn’t confident, too much pressure and I was sweating everywhere,” the singer revealed.

For someone who had no idea about songwriting or production, Becca, on the spot, began to sing the first line of the song. She revealed that Kiki was impressed with her attempts and urged her to do more.

Becca credits her ability to come up with some lines to her song, to her ability to function under pressure.  

Along with a producer, Becca and Kiki finessed the song. This process, she says, got her so excited.

All she wanted to do was return to the studio every time she went home.

“It is an addiction, music entertainment is a serious addiction,” she said.

Adding a star to an already finished song

Kwabena Kwabena is the man who apologised fervently to Becca in the song, hoping she forgives him for being a cheating boyfriend. But, this hitmaker was not on the song right from the start.

Becca revealed that the song after it was complete sounded like a one-sided perspective of a breakup. Thus they needed a different opinion and a response to her claims to give it a fair balance.

Given that Kwabena Kwabena was serving music lovers with great hits, the management decided to choose him for that job. She noted that the addition of the ‘Kwaadede’ hitmaker to the song was also strategic.

She was expected to ride on the back of his popularity to get her music to the spotlight.

Before the release

Becca stated that she was nervous to have people listen to the song for the first time. However, before the release of the song, some people had to hear it first.

Kiki, hence, called some people he knew in the music industry and media to not only listen to the song but also assess it. Kwame Sefa Kayi and Andy Dosty were among the first few people to listen to You Lied To Me and gave it a thumbs up.

“The worst thing for an artiste is to hear herself sing when people are there. You are sacred about the criticism, and I remember the people were like ‘this girl is good, or she is not bad’.” 

The release and reactions

Becca did not have much knowledge about the industry and how it operated, coupled with not having much faith in herself and her abilities, she did not expect the response she got.

The then 21-year-old was pleasantly surprised by the reactions and love the song received. To her, ‘You lied to Me’ was not just her breakthrough song but one of the easiest hits she has had. “It travelled on its own.”

Becca believes that because she communicated a lot of people’s feelings of heartbreak, it was easy for listeners to relate to her and her song.

She stated that from the begging to the end, listeners knew she was telling a story.  Adding that her hook and chorus were simple, people could sing along to it, she said.

“I think when people speak about broken hearts a lot of time we think about partners only (break hearts) but it is not only that that can break your heart. At the time,  I just came from London and so was also going through my own personal things that people didn’t know about and so singing this was not just about men.”

Exposure

This hit, Becca says gave her the opportunity to meet great people including musicians like Hugh Masekela, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and many amazing people. 

It also exposed her to a world of love where fans were expressing their adoration for her.

Just as her success came with a positive side, Becca says that she found that it gave people the opportunity to delve into her life.