Kiki Gyan
Known for his skill on the keyboard, Ghana’s Kiki Gyan was extremely talented that many felt he was not meant for the Ghanaian market. Born into a musical home, his parents were also music inclined and this influenced his love for music.
He had his first education at Chapel Hill Preparatory School in the Western Region and continued to Tarkwa Secondary School, all in the Western Region of Ghana.
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His claim to fame began after he joined the famous Osibisa band in 1972 on several tours across the world. He made so much money from performing in Lagos, London, the United States, and the Caribbean .
At age 18, he made a million dollars and spending quality time with Elton John and Mick Jagger. In 1977, he met Marvin Gaye, Peter Tosh, Stevie Wonder, and Third World during the FESTAC event in Nigeria. He left his group, Osibisa to go solo in 1979 and recorded the single “24 Hours in a Disco”, which hit the charts in the United States and the UK.
His success, however, was saddled with drug addiction, in one of his visits to the U.S., Kiki joined a gang of cocaine dealers who influenced him. Kiki became addicted to hard drugs for some 21 years, to the detriment of his career. Kiki Gyan died alone and impoverished in a church bathroom in Ghana, a victim of AIDS and drug-related complications.
