Samini’s touching tribute to Sonni Balli

In 2019, Reggae/Dancehall artiste, Samini acknowledged the role of Dancehall giant, Sonni Balli (now deceased) in his success story, GhanaWeb recalls.

Samini in an exclusive interview on Hitz FM explained how Sonni Balli saved him from the street and mentored him to success.

According to him, in the earlier years of his music career, he was stranded in London after he went there for a music concert confused about his next step.

During that period, Samini revealed he contemplated quitting music to secure a job in London. However, it took the good counsel of Sonni Balli for him to return back to Ghana to do music.

“While in London, nothing seems to be going on, so my options were either to forget the music, stay in London, hustle and send money home or leave to Ghana to pursue my music career. Then Sonni Balli called me to advise me to return home, else if my travel documents expire, I would be extremely stranded and music executives would exploit my talents over there.

“I listened to him and returned home. Briefly, after I got to Ghana, my single, ‘Linda’ became a big heart. You should have seen the joy in his heart as Sonni congratulated me for making him proud,” Samini recalled.

“Even after ‘Linda’ became a big hit, Sonni Balli went on to introduce me to American music producer, Nana King after he returned to the UK. So the move was, even after ‘Linda’ he introduced me to Nana King so I can cross the main gate and get inside the music game proper and that was the beginning of my success,” Samini added.

Meanwhile, Samini has taken to Twitter to mourn his late boss.

Although the exact cause of Sonni Balli’s death is yet to be confirmed, it is alleged that he passed on following a brief cardiac arrest. His death was reported on Thursday, June 9, 2022.