Veteran Ghanaian singer Mzbel has offered a candid and wide-ranging reflection on motherhood and parenting, describing the experience as deeply demanding while defending her son Okomfo Black’s publicly expressed views on religion.
Speaking on Bullet TV, the hiplife musician said raising a child fundamentally shifts personal autonomy. “Once you have a child, what they decide is what you do,” she said. “If my baby wakes up in the middle of the night and she’s crying, I can’t sleep. So she has decided that she can’t sleep, so we all cannot sleep.”
She went further to characterise parenthood in striking terms. “Sometimes I feel like it’s a scam, but it’s a beautiful scam,” she said. She was quick to add that despite its challenges, parenting carries meaningful rewards. “The little things they do, the things they say, it reminds you of who you are,” she noted.
Mzbel also offered direct advice to those considering parenthood. “If you are not ready for the wahala, I don’t think you should,” she said.
On the subject of her son Okomfo Black’s views on religion, which drew significant public debate following a viral interview in 2023, Mzbel defended both her son’s perspective and her approach to raising him. She questioned why non-conventional beliefs attract such sharp social judgment. “We are made to believe that there’s freedom of worship. So if we are not Christians, we are not Muslims, we are not Buddhists, and we decide to do whatever we are, why is it a big deal?” she said.
She explained that Okomfo Black’s views reflect his own understanding of existence. “He said that he doesn’t believe that there is a God that is sitting somewhere and making decisions for everybody,” she said. She added: “If you ask him who created you, he will tell you that I was not created. I was born. And that is the truth. I gave birth to him.”
Mzbel acknowledged that public reaction to her son’s views affects her, while insisting he is not attacking anyone’s faith. “It gets to me because he’s telling the truth. He’s not saying don’t worship. He’s saying what he knows,” she said.
On her parenting philosophy more broadly, the singer drew a distinction between control and guidance. “I don’t program them. I guide them,” she said, referring to both Okomfo Black and her daughter Adepa.
