Kofi38

I moved to London from Accra when I was 20 with a second-hand alto saxophone and a dream that most people told me was impractical. Those first years were humbling -- busking on the Southbank, washing dishes at a Soho restaurant, sitting in on jam sessions at any club that would let me through the door. Then one night, a legendary session musician heard me playing outside the Royal Festival Hall and invited me to record on an album. That changed everything.

People tell me I have old-soul energy, and I think that comes from the journey. The long nights in a new country, the years of rejection before anyone listened -- it teaches you to be patient, to listen more than you speak. When I do speak, I try to make the words count. But honestly, I'd rather let the horn do the talking.

These days, I spend a lot of my time mentoring young musicians, especially kids from immigrant backgrounds. I run a free Saturday workshop at a community center in Brixton -- we work on technique, sure, but really it's about understanding music as a language of connection. I still call my mum in Accra every Sunday, still cook jollof rice when I'm homesick, and I still believe the saxophone is the closest instrument to the human voice.