Ghana music legend Daddy Lumba dead at 60
Ghanaian singer Charles Kojo Fosu, widely known as Daddy Lumba, has passed away at the age of 60.
A statement from the highlife artist said that he passed away in a hospital on July 26th after suffering a short illness. The statement also called Daddy Lumba “a cultural icon and his music touched countless lives.”
Daddy Lumba, the multiple award-winning Ghanaian musician, has a career spanning three decades. Lumba was born in a village called Nsuta Amangoase in the Sekyere Central District, near Mampong in Ashanti Region.
In the early 1980s, he debuted on the highlife scene with his massive hit “Yeeye Aka Akwantuo Mu” with Nana Acheampong (known together as the “Lumba Brothers”). He has since recorded 33 studio albums, including critically acclaimed projects such as Aben Wɔha, Awosuɔ, Obi Ate Me So Buɔ, Sika Asɛm and Ebi Se Ɛyɛ Aduro.
Lumba last performed at a public concert to mark Valentine’s Day in February 2025. The household name shared the stage with many of Ghana’s best musicians, and many of the country’s politicians were in attendance. He was due to go on tour to the US and Canada in 2025.
Among the many tributes the musician has received, President John Mahama wrote a Facebook post that deemed his passing an “irreplaceable loss.” He wrote, “Lumba’s unmatched musical genius provided the soundtrack to our lives, carrying us through various phases of life. The beats to his memorable songs may have died down, but his enduring legacy will echo through the ages.”
Kofi Okyere-Darko, director of diaspora affairs at the president’s office, described Daddy Lumba as “the greatest from Ghana in the last 100 years.”
Details of funeral arrangements will be made public within a few days, his family have announced. They have also requested privacy “as they navigate this profound grief”.
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