FATHER’S DEATH: “My Dad Died When I Was Seven” — KiDi Opens up about Losing His Father and Growing up Unsettled

‘Touch It’ hitmaker KiDi has spoken candidly about the painful loss that shaped his childhood, revealing that his father died when he was only seven years old. “Mr Dey, my dad died when I was seven,” KiDi told Kafui Dey. The loss was followed by years of uncertainty for the young singer and his mother. With his father gone, KiDi lived with his mother as she worked to provide for the family. Their circumstances meant moving repeatedly between different parts of Accra, including Teshie, Tema, Weija and Odorkor. “So today we’re here, tomorrow we’re there,” he recalled. The constant movement made it difficult for KiDi to form lasting friendships. “I was never able to keep a community of friends that I grew up with,” he said. “Because once you make friends, you have to move.” Perhaps most painfully, Kidi said he did not fully understand the reality of his father’s death until the funeral. He recalled secretly looking at his father’s body despite attempts by adults to shield him from the experience. “I don’t think I even understood what it was. I was just in tears,” he said. Through those difficult years, KiDi said his mother remained his strongest source of support. Her resilience, he suggested, became an important part of the foundation on which he built his own life and career.