Kofi Boakye never says he chose the piano but rather that it chose him at a moment when he needed it most.
Boakye grew up on the north side of Akron. His father was largely absent from his life, so he and his siblings were raised by their mother. At 8 years old, Boakye began taking piano lessons. Looking back on his early days, Boakye said he was searching “for something to really just put my passion into, my purpose into.”
In the 2019 documentary “Kofi: Made in Akron,” Boakye and those closest to him recount his musical beginnings as a kid with a penchant for performing. As his family dealt with divorce and homelessness, piano became Boakye’s outlet.
“He was desperate for music,” his longtime piano teacher, Tricia Hammann Thomson, said in the film. “It’s a language, and it’s his language. And everybody needs a language.”
Youngest Black pianist in University of Akron jazz program
When Signal Akron caught up with Boakye, who performs under the name Kofi B., the now 24-year-old was working in Orlando before heading to Atlanta to perform.
“I’ve always had that knack for entertainment and wanting to put on a show,” Boakye said. “Music was something that I just kind of caught on to, and it just gravitated toward me. It just kind of became natural for me. I started off classically trained, and within the first couple months, it went from playing the beginners books to intermediate and advanced, and the rest is kind of history.”
Read more: Things to do for Black History Month across Akron
A quick note on that history. It includes being accepted into Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and then going on to attend Akron Early College High School, where, at 15, he became the youngest Black pianist to enroll in the University of Akron School of Music’s jazz program. Boakye then launched a fundraising campaign so he could attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, eventually raising $50,000 and enrolling in 2019.
The Apollo comes calling
Like many, Boakye’s schooling was interrupted by the pandemic. He eventually found a full-time job as a pianist at a church in Boston and spent six months flying back and forth between there and Akron. (As Boakye explained, frequent plane tickets were still cheaper than rent in the East Coast city.)
Before the pandemic, in 2019, Boakye competed in Amateur Night at the Apollo, where he was the runner-up. In 2022, he decided to return to the Apollo, the legendary Harlem theater that has jumpstarted many careers and dashed many dreams of stardom with its tough love audience and its “be good or be gone” motto.
Boakye, though, was ready.
“The realness of the audience is something that is so refreshing for me. And it may be because I grew up with two older brothers that didn’t lie to me. If I wasn’t good at something, they told me,” he said.
“I mean, it’s the Apollo also. That’s one of those things where I remember my first time going on that stage. I don’t really have many moments that are truly breathtaking, but that was a breathtaking moment, to go out there and to see, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is the stage that created so many stars.’ And I think you feel that when you’re on that stage.”
Boakye took home first prize – and a check for $20,000 – for his performance of “Say Yes” by Floetry.
What’s next for Boakye
His star continued to rise. In 2022 Boakye made his film debut in the Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” where he performs piano in one of the scenes. In 2023 he opened for R&B and soul greats Charlie Wilson and Will Downing, capping his year with a performance with Musiq Soulchild and Marsha Ambrosius at the Civic Theatre in December.
This year, Boakye is focused on continuing to build his career. He said this is the year to release new music, perhaps even original compositions. He also wants to do more speaking engagements and continue to create content for social media.
“Just continuously being in the environments and the rooms that I’ve always known that I was capable of [being] in,” he said. “Kind of just creating that lane for myself and doing what I’ve been doing.”
Boakye will play the Civic again Friday, Feb. 9, when he headlines at The Knight Stage. The day before, he’ll give the Black History Month keynote address at the University of Akron. Although young, Boakye has become a pro at sharing his journey with the public, from social media audiences to school children.
“All I can do is continually share my story. If that serves to be an inspiration as it has, then I believe that I’m doing my job,” Boakye said. “Somebody that’s really authentic and true to the words that they’re saying out of their mouth, that’s the thing that I’m striving toward.”
Beyond the Keys: An Unplugged Conversation with Pianist Kofi B.
Thursday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m.The University of Akron
Gardner Theatre in the Jean Hower Taber Student Union
303 Carroll St.
This event is free and open to the public.
uakron.edu/ie/
Kofi B. And Friends
Friday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m.
The Knight Stage
182 S. Main St.
Tickets: $40
akroncivic.com
