Most people know Derrick Abaitey as the entrepreneur and founder of Konnected Minds. However, before building his business career, he was an aspiring musician who shared stages with some of Africa’s biggest artistes and collaborated with award-winning Ghanaian singer Bisa Kdei.
Speaking on The Career Trail on Joy Learning TV and JoyNews, the Ghanaian-UK entrepreneur revealed that there was a time he believed music would be his major financial breakthrough.
Abaitey said his music group, Vibe Squad, had built a strong reputation in the United Kingdom, earning opportunities to perform as opening acts for celebrated artistes including P-Square, D’banj and Samini.
One of the biggest highlights of his music journey came when his senior brother connected with Bisa Kdei, leading to the creation of the song Yebeko.
“My brother got in touch with Bisa Kdei. He sent him a beat, which became the Yebeko beat. Bisa recorded the hook, my brother sent it to me, we completed the song and sent it back to him. He loved it, helped mix it and it was released,” he recounted.
Released in 2013, Yebeko quickly gained traction in Ghana while Abaitey was still based in the United Kingdom.
“When it was released, I was in the UK. The song was growing very fast in Kumasi,” he recalled.
The success of the song later brought him back to Ghana, where he experienced first-hand the growing impact of the project and the opportunities it created for him as an artiste.where he joined Bisa Kdei on a promotional tour across several towns, including Nkawkaw.
“We went on tour together. Bisa was doing shows and he kept putting me on. We did a lot of work together. That was before he released Brother Brother and Mansa,” he narrated.
Encouraged by the song’s success, Bisa Kdei repeatedly urged him to relocate to Ghana and pursue music full-time.
Despite the encouragement, Abaitey had qualified as a pharmacist and found himself at a crossroads.
Although he later collaborated with rapper Medikal on the song Chiobody and other well-known artistes, he realised that entrepreneurship, not music, was the path he wanted to follow.
“As much as I loved music, that wasn’t the path for me. I was always doing business,” he reflected.
He further explained that maintaining a music career demanded constant spending, often with little financial return.
“Anytime you go to a show as a musician, you have to pay for clothes, get a haircut and buy new shoes. Anytime people see you with the same shoes, it’s as if you haven’t made it. It was taking money. It became a liability for me,” he remarked.
He also revealed that some promoters failed to honour their promises even after booking artistes to perform.
“They’ll put you on as an opening act and promise you £200. They never pay you. Promoters are still owing us money today,” he lamented.
“Music gave me friends and acquaintances, but it never made me any money,” he added.
Looking back, Abaitey says leaving music is a decision he has never regretted, as it paved the way for the career and business journey that defines him today.
“The life I have today is because of studying pharmacy, not because of music,” he concluded.
