Mzbel, Ghanaian music whose real name is Belinda Nana Ekua Amoah, claimed to have created the lyrics to her song “16 Years” while listening to talks about rape and female children in a cab.
Mzbel said that panel talks on rape and the welfare of teenage girls, which were facilitated by renowned Ghanaian actress Maame Dokono, served as inspiration for her work.
“I was in a taxi when I came up with the lyrics. I used to stay with a lot of girls from Jamestown, so I watched how they talked and how they behaved, and Maame Dokono was always on the radio talking about rape, so we were in a taxi one day listening to Maame Dokono, and I was watching how they were reacting to stories, and then I came up with the song 16 Years. I started writing in the taxi, so when I get home, I built on it.” she stated while speaking at 3MUSIC.
When asked if she anticipated the popularity and success the song obtained, she said, “Not at all. I didn’t even think it would go outside Ghana; it was just another nice song I think I have done, and I was going to play one or two shows of it, but the next minute it was in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and Togo; it was everywhere… My song 16 years started taking me out of Ghana, and the money was good.“
Mzbel went on to say that the response she received when she performed in other countries was very different from the one she received at home.
“I felt the same way; the feeling didn’t change for me, but the people reacted differently; when they see me, they welcome me. When they are taking pictures with you, you could actually feel that they are shaking, but here in Ghana, you will pop out somewhere where people are entertaining themselves, and when you are about to perform, people will be whispering, See the kind of clothes she is wearing?”
