Crespo the Poet: The next big thing
Many who have heard or seen him perform may think he has always been this poetic but Crespo the Poet has revealed he was never been a fan of spoken word till last year.
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The 22 year old wordsmith, real name, Derrick Osei Agyemang has been scintillating poetry lovers with great poem recital at events that it was shocking to know he was not an avid fan of it initially.
"I wasn't a fan of poetry/spoken word before I entered into the industry, but I loved literature in general. It all started somewhere last year July 2015, when I wrote a love message for a friend.
‘ After I sent it to her, she liked it and told me it was like a romantic poem. I shared it with other friends and they also made the same comment," he told Showbiz in an interview.
He went on to say that, "The positive feedback encouraged me to do an audio recording of it as a spoken word with my phone. I then went ahead to do a studio recording and later shot my first video titled, True love.
“ So I developed the interest of writing poems and recording more spoken word pieces from there."
The Level 400 Business Administration student at the University of Ghana, Legon, has performed on platforms viz Metro TV, GhOne, eTV, Starr FM, Pluzz FM, Radio Univers, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Alisa Hotel, among others.
Touching on the challenges of doing poetry, Crespo the Poet said "Poetry is difficult. It takes time and it involves creativity. Sometimes, you have to do a lot of research to help you understand the topic you are writing on.
“ You also need money too for your publicity, audios and videos. The final challenge is the rehearsing aspect. You have to know your piece off head," said Crespo.
Sharing his thoughts on poetry in this part of the world, Crespo said the recognition is low here in Africa and not highly respected like other acts.
But he hoped it will soon gain grounds some years to come due to the innovation and investment people are making in the poetry and spoken word industry now."
According to the poet, a native of Kokofu in the Ashanti Region, he believes he is the next big thing vis-a-vis poetry in the world.
"I see myself at the international level and gracing bigger occasions in the country. I will continue to work hard to get international recognition.
“My focus now is to perform and take my works outside Ghana and I know it will surely come to pass. With God, all things are possible. My aim is to impact lives through my works," he said.