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According to Botri, one of his earliest jobs was selling kerosene in his community. “At the age of 11 in my community. So, I would go around in my area ,” he recalled.
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Ghanaian master flutist Dela Botri has opened up about his early struggles, revealing that his journey into music was preceded by years of hustling, including selling kerosene and distributing water in his community from the age of 11.
Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Botri said he started working at a very young age and took on different jobs to support himself.
“I started hustling very early,” he said.
According to Botri, one of his earliest jobs was selling kerosene in his community.
“At the age of 11 in my community. So, I would go around in my area ,” he recalled.
Botri also recalled working as a water distributor, pushing a truck loaded with water to residents in his community at a time when water supply was unreliable.
“I have done that before. I have pushed truck to serve people with water in my community,” he said.
He explained that he worked with an older man, who owned the truck and handled the money collected from customers.
"we [were] distributing water in my area [for] both rich men and people who didn't have enough",” Botri said.
He said the work taught him valuable lessons about survival and hard work.
“The truck belongs to him and he really taught me a lot of hard way of living,” he said.
Despite his early involvement in music, Botri said he initially did not consider it his main career.
By the time he was introduced to the Pan-African Orchestra in 1989, he was working in construction and regarded music as a hobby.
“I didn’t even take it serious by then I was doing construction. I took music as a hobby,” he said.
Botri said his construction work involved carrying concrete, and he spent several years in the trade.
He later found himself moving further into music, eventually building a reputation as one of Ghana’s celebrated master flutists.
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