They said I was wasting my future – Richie Mensah opens up about choosing music over medicine

Chief Executive Officer of Lynx Group Limited, Richie Mensah, has opened up about the fierce backlash he and his mother faced when he chose to pursue music at just 17 — a decision many felt was a waste of potential.

Sharing his journey on Changes with Roselyn Felli on Joy Prime, Richie revealed that the decision to ditch a traditional path like medicine for music didn’t sit well with many in his life, especially given his academic excellence.

‘When I started my journey, I was 17 and a lot of people said I was too young,” he said.

“I finished senior high and had a convo with my mum, telling her I wanted to do music. It was a big shocker because everybody expected me to go to medical school.”

But it wasn’t just mild disapproval. Richie shared how his mother became a target for insults and ridicule, simply for standing by her son’s passion.

“So many people insulted her and said she was allowing her son to waste his intelligence and future. They asked why I was doing music instead of going to study medicine.”

Despite the harsh words, Richie pressed on. His breakout track, Yaro, was a defiant response to his doubters.

“When I released my first song, many people didn’t believe I would make it.

“But eventually, I did. So ‘Yaro’ in Hausa means ‘small boy.’ I was saying, ‘They say I be Yaro, but they can’t contest the Yaro.’”