Ghanaian rap icon Okyeame Kwame, born Kwame Nsiah-Apau, has revealed his intentions to teach at a later stage of his life.

The 'Rap Doctor', speaking during a heartfelt interview with George Quaye on Joy Prime’s Prime Time Show on Wednesday, June 25, mentioned his passion for teaching despite his love for music.

He said while music may be his first love, education is his true calling, and he fully expects to spend the last chapter of his life in a classroom.

“If I weren’t a musician, I’d be a teacher, completely,” he said with conviction. “Even as a musician, I’m still going to be a teacher…because by the end of my life, I will be teaching in one of the universities.”

Recounting his early teaching days at Meduma in the Kwabre-East District of the Ashanti Region in the mid-1990s, Kwame described how exciting the experience was for him.

He recalled the enthusiasm he felt while preparing for his classes and the joy he experienced during his interactions and engagements with the students.

That experience, he said, left a lasting impression.

“I loved interacting with children. I loved imparting knowledge. I even loved the process of preparing to teach”.

“That’s how I know I’ll end up in a lecture hall, teaching psychology, sociology, philosophy—or even the philosophy of African music”, he said.

According to him, his commitment to return to teaching would mark a fulfilment of promise and an honour to his late father's name.

Okyeame Kwame shared that his late father once opposed his rap career.

“From age 14 to 16, we fought all the time about it,” he recalled. “But one day, he saw me perform. After that, he made me promise: no matter how far I go with rap, I must go back to school.”

His father passed away two years later, and that promise became a guiding voice in his life. “I go to school for him. And I go to school for myself.”

What makes his story even more remarkable is the academic challenge he had to overcome. “Growing up, I had dyslexia,” he revealed.

“It wasn’t diagnosed in Ghana, so I was constantly beaten at home and at school. They said I was stupid. But I wasn’t. I just had a different brain.”

Okyeame Kwame described himself as neurodivergent and has become an advocate for a better understanding of children with learning difficulties.

“Some children have dyslexia. Some have dyscalculia. We beat them because we don’t understand that their brains just work differently.”

However, he has broken all barriers despite his early struggles in school, currently holding two masters degrees and is working on his PhD.

“I just do it for myself—to prove I wasn’t stupid. I do it to fulfil the promise I made to my father. And I do it because I know I’m meant to teach.”