Diana Hamilton, a gospel music sensation from Ghana, has talked openly about how creating music changed her and gave her more confidence to combine languages.
The award-winning singer discussed how her song “Work in Progress” was essential in removing language boundaries in her music during an interview with Johnnie Hughes on 3FM.
Diana recalled the early years of her career and shared a piece of advice she had received from her manager: sing only in Twi or English. But fate had other ideas for how she would express herself artistically.
When she was inspired to write “Work in Progress,” the English lyrics came naturally, which made her initial decision about which language to use more difficult.
Diana sought advice and support from her coworker, Kwame Yeboah, who acted as a source of motivation and inspiration.
But I believe that Work in Progress was the thing that gave me the confidence to change things up. She recalled, “I was writing this song with this guy named Kwame Yeboah, and I was like, ‘This is the message I have, ‘Because I’m a work in progress,’ and I was like, ‘How do I put chords to this because I don’t play.'”
She didn’t absolutely need to add chords to the song, he informed her; she could just let the message stand on its own.
In response, she said, “I spoke to Kwame Yeboah and he said you’ don’t have to put chords to it, Just say it’ and then also I was like ‘But it’s in English’ and he was honest like that, he was like’so’ I’m like ‘would it work,’ he was like ‘try,’ and then it came in.
Before “Work in Progress,” Diana acknowledged feeling a little uneasy about fusing different languages in her songs.
Those reservations were dispelled, though, by the enthusiastic response and sincere connection that her song got.
As a result, Diana Hamilton’s comfort level with blending languages has increased significantly, and she now expertly blends Twi and English in her songs.