US-based singer Officer Sammy Young has argued language does not limit the power of music.

He spoke with sit-in host Prince Benjamin (PB) on Entertainment Capital, Saturday, December 9, 2023, on Accra 100.5 FM.

He recalled “when I was in Ghana, I saw someone receive deliverance [from an evil spirit] when a Nigerian song was sang.

“So when it comes to music, it is not about language. When the Igwe song came to Ghana, we didn’t understand it but it played everywhere.”

On why Ghanaian songs are not widely known, he bemoaned, “We don’t promote one another.”

If Ghanaians promoted local songs the same way they promote Nigerian songs, Officer Sammy Young argued, “we would also trend in Nigeria and in other countries”.

An award-winning Gospel musician, Officer Sammy Young was reacting to Gospel star Nathaniel Bassey instructing Ghanaians to write “more songs in English” in order to appeal to international audiences.

Stressing he does not agree with Nathaniel Bassey, he asserted it is important to “change our style and go along with the latest trends in music but we do not have to leave our local dialects out.

“We can do that and mix it with English, Ga, French but to sing more in English, I don’t understand and I don’t agree.”

The Ghanaian singer said people of diverse nationalities and ethnicities sing his music in the United States.

He said thought his friends and colleague at work, for instance, struggle to understand the lyrics in his music, it does not stop them from thoroughly enjoying his music and testifying about it.

He said, one time, a Nigerian Sergeant at work passionately protested when he revealed his intentions to record a song in English so everyone could understand his message.

“She said, no, no, no, no, no,” Officer Sammy Young narrated. “She said: ‘How you are singing in your language, I love it that way. Why do you want to change it to English? No. I even enjoy the rhythm.”

He urged Ghanaian singers to “at least add a bit of English to their songs or provide English captions for their music videos,” noting that though English “is an international language, it is not everyone who understands it, and it’s clear when you travel”.

Based on this observation, if Bassey’s logic is followed, one would have to sing in all the languages of the world, he argued.

He expressed confidence that “what the song has to do, spiritually, will always be done” irrespective of the language.

Officer Sammy Young, formerly known as Minister Sammy Young, is a trained chef and a corrections officer in Dallas, Texas, USA. He won the Discovery of the Year Award at the 2023 Ghana Music Awards-USA.