Pipe De-star the man with a box of talents whose name is Spencer Adjei Boakye -Adade is popularly known as Spencer De-star; an Urban Gospel musician who started doing music at an early age.

He was one of the curtain raisers selected to perform at the Give it Up 2016. I believe you will want to know what he was doing at the One Mic session if not to audition but yet got selected to show up and bless the people present for the main Give it Up 2016.

Spencer describes himself as a laid back, interesting, sociable, funny and very determined and focused person. Besides music he has a diploma in IT & Networking, which could have been, is career path. He believes God has called him to propagate the gospels and he is doing it with all he has.

 

D: Welcome Spencer

S: Thank you

D:Before we begin with this interview a little intro will do for the people out to know who you really are.

S:My name is Spencer Adjei Boakye -Adade and I go by the stage name Pipe de Star. Pipe de Star is an urban gospel minister who fuses afro pop, RnB, hip-hop, hi-life with praise and worship all together to the glory of God.

D: : How do you describe your music to people?

S: My music is an inspirational song which is actually directed to Jesus. I also do a new creation kind of music just as the bible says “behold old things are passed away and everything has become new” so I do a new creation music.

The new creation urban gospel music that I do is purposely to glorify God and make Jesus great which is also to tell the world and let them know that before I was in the world and I now have been saved, not just saved but blessed.

Everything that I am doing is by the blessings of God. Am increasing in grace, moving from glory to glory and my music is an inspiration for every believer and even non-believers and there are great testimonies all around me. People call me and tell me they hear my music and it’s been a blessing to them. That; I really thank God for.

D: Can you share some of the testimonies you received. Anyone in particular you could share.

S: There was a friend of mine who called and said he has been listening to “spirit in motion” my new single and he said when he listened to it, it was something else. He was actually relating to the lyrics. He also added he has been listening to it almost 20times in a day.

D: That means they are really inspirational…I love such songs really. What image do you think your music conveys?

S: My music projects the image of God and the goodness of Jesus. How he came to save us and now we enjoying grace, that’s the image.  It also shows we are superior and powerful; since the bible says “we seated in highly places over principalities and powers of darkness”. My music projects that image whereby it makes you believe in the power of who you are in Christ; it gives you the consciousness of it.

D: Coming to the Give it Up One Mic session which was the audition to select curtain raisers to embrace the whole occasion of Give it Up 2016, were you certain you were going to get selected or you dropped to try your luck and see where it gets you?

S: Life is spiritual. I am a gospel minister, mine is a calling. I didn’t just wake up and say I want to do urban gospel, no! Before I use to do circular music, I was a circular artist and I had the calling. After I had the calling, what the spirit of God made me understand was that; though it was an audition, I saw it as making an impact and being there to bless the souls that were there to witness what was going on at that time.

In my consciousness I wasn’t there to audition I was just coming to bless them with my ministry, what God has given me.

D: And you got selected.

S:  Exactly … (smiling)

D: I heard your performance at Give it Up was wonderful even though I missed your performance but the response I got was good. How did you feel being on the grand stage of the Give it Up 2016?

S: It was awesome. For me I will say it was the spirit of God. I fellowship with the Holy Spirit, I pray a lot and it all goes down to prayers. I prepared my heart and my spirit through prayers and fasting and when I came there it was the spirit of God that actually took over the whole thing and the response was unbelievable.

 It was awesome. People said they were blessed and actually felt the presence of God and you could see them dancing not only dancing but seeing the music making an impact in their spirits. That was what happened.

After that a friend of mine actually recorded the whole performance on his phone and played it back for me and I was wowed and wondered if I actually did all these things, I wasn’t even aware of all what I was doing. Most people came to me congratulating me and I said “Jesus did it; the spirit of God did it not me”.

D: Who are some of your favourite composers, musicians and bands from the past and present?

S: From the past Kirk Franklin, Dietrich Haddon, Mali Music and Lecrae have all been a source of inspiration to my music.

Coming to the local scenes who are the people you will say are your inspiration?

Joe mettle is one; he carries serious ministry angels and carries powerful anointing in his music, Eugene Zuta and Sonnie Badu. I will mention these 3.

D: Are you currently signed on to any label?

S: No please am not signed onto any label yet

D: And are you looking forward to signing on to any label

S: Yes I am looking forward to signing on to one.

D: So which label would you like to get signed on to?

S: Am looking actually to a foreign label.

D: Wowww! You are aiming high.But you know you need to start from somewhere by first signing on to a local label before moving on to the international scenes.

S: Exactly! Exactly.  I am building my own records label, a GLM record that’s God Loves_Music Records. I am a sound engineer so anytime you listen to my music you will hear God Loves_Music Records. We are also building a fan base for the record by the Grace of God and now it’s getting better. People are coming on board. I am also a sound engineer; most of my songs are produced by me.

D: Wow that’s interesting; you are a box of talent on its own. You produce your own songs, a sound engineer and creating your own record label.

S: I write my own songs too

D: That means you do not get external help from other lyricist?

S: No, no!  I do everything on my own by the Grace of God. I’m a song writer, music director and sound engineer.

D: In the next 5 to 10years where do you see yourself?

S: I see myself all over the world, going outside Ghana with the gospel message of Jesus Christ through music and impacting my generation.

D: Was Give it up the first grand platform you ever performed on or you had other platforms?

S: Have had other platforms but I think Give it Up is one of the biggest platforms have had to perform on.

D: How do you rate your live performance ability?

S: Now by the Grace of God the responses I get are positive. You can do something but the response is what will tell you if you doing it right or wrong and so far the responses I get tells me am doing well in my ministry and I also want to do more.

I don’t want to be in my comfort zone I want to be outside it and do more though people are commenting and saying good things I want to do more.

D: Do you ever get nervous before performance?

S: No I don’t because it’s been something have been doing since I was a kid. I’m use to it now so I don’t panic or get stage frights and all that. I am excited anytime I minister and have never been nervous during any performance.

D: That’s true. You do need to get outside your comfort zone then and there you will know how challenging it is out there.

D: How would you define the word “success”?

S: Success they say is something that you don’t do once but something you do repeatedly. Success also means being focus and being consistent in what you do and always coming out of your way to bring the best in you. Anything that brings out the best in you makes people see you as successful.

Before you can bring something best out of your system you need to have that inspiration and inner joy so that when it comes out you will be happy.

D: Aside music what else do you do. What is your current business form?

S: I am also business entrepreneur and I do other businesses.

D: Like?

S: Investments, I deal with goods from outside Ghana and distribute them. Those are the kind of businesses I’m into.

D: How does your normal day look like?

 

S: My normal day is always packed from one activity to the other, sometimes at the studio, here and there, people coming around to book the studio so I normally spend my time working at the studio as well as doing my businesses.

D: Have you produced songs for some popular gospel artist? Who the some of the popular artist whom you’ve produced songs for?

S: Yes I have, Muby Dey’s Higher I gave the beats and another guy called Knoxx de Favoured he came to record Image of the Lord and a few others.

 

D: How many singles do you have and are you working on your album?

S: Am working on my album I have a lot of songs over a 100 songs.

 

D: Are you serious! You’ve really been working hard.

S: Always working hard. My album is going to have 23 tracks on an album.

 

D: That’s means you could have four albums produced at a go.

S: Exactly

 

D: That’s feels so good.

S: And I will be releasing my album God willing next year. The album title “the Psalmist”

 

D: Why the name “The Psalmist” for the album

S: When you go to the bible “The Psalmist” talks about the goodness of God and also about music. You know David himself was a composer and most of his writings in the Psalm are actually about praises to God.

 If you want to know about “The Psalmist” is about praising God and letting the world know we are nothing without God and he is the one that owns everything in our life. That’s why the spirit of God gave me the name “The Psalmist”.

The Psalmist purposely is about music, composer.

 

D: How did you come to know about your talent and how did you work on it after realization?

S: I started singing when I was 5years and my dad was an instrumentalist. He plays almost all the instruments like the keyboard, guitar, base, and drum among others. My source of inspiration actually came from him. He is a pastor and singer as well. So I got all these things from him.

As a kid we use to go to ICGC and also at Sunday school they will call for me to come and minister at the main auditorium as a child. That was when my mum saw the gift that is in me which she maintained and made sure I worked towards that, along the line I diverted to doing circular music and God brought me back again.

 

D: That makes God loving, even though we sin and divert all the time when we realize our mistakes he forgives us and brings us back to our place of abode which is in his presence.

S: Exactly

D: I love listening to you and the stories you have to share. They are quiet inspirational so if you are given the chance to advice a bunch of youth, what will you want to tell them.

S: My advice to the youth or the upcoming urban gospel ministers is that they should be humble for the bible says that “God resist the proud and gives more grace to the humble” so they should be humble, learn the word of God and pray. These are the basic things.

They should make sure to be straight with God and obedient. They obeying God,  fasting and praying they will be there.

 

D: We are getting to the latter and I usually don’t leave my guest without final words. What would you want to tell people who love your music?

S: I will like to tell them God bless them so much and making me one of their number one fan, without them am nobody and am also grateful for their good works and keep supporting Pipe de Star. They should also go to my social media and comment so we get interactive.

 

D: Thanks you so much Spencer. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have you spend some time with me out of your busy schedule.

S: You are welcome. I’m stunned and grateful. God bless you so much.

I also want to thank repJesus for the opportunity and for the good things that they are doing for Ghana. I say God bless them so much and their ministry. A year by this time the whole world will hear of repJesus entertainment

D: Yaaaaayyy! Amen. Thank you once again.