Quitting a fully paying job to pursue music in an industry hugely devoid of support, years back, was an unthinkable thing to venture into.
Yet Barhama Cham risked it.
Growing up in a society with a fervent belief music is confined to only griots -praise-singers – his pursuit of singing was sure bound to rile up his family who do not emanate from that strata.
It’s worth mentioning, his decision to take up music was on the suggestion of a friend who got intrigued by Cham’s sing-alongs of general tunes.
As we will later find out, he heeded this advise and began toying the idea but this was met with pockets of opposition from his immediate family.
However, after an in-depth dialogue with his parents, they’d resolved he would only be allowed to sing or practice if he made schooling top on his priorities. It turned out, their decision to oppose his venture into music was born out of the many tales of wayward lifestyles, they’ve heard singers in the industry, lead.
This position, Gambia News understands, softened after Barhama graduated from Nusrat. In the interim, he bagged a diploma in a travel and tourism course and had began working full-time where he was supporting his family with his earnings.
Accusations of Being Possessed, Witchcraft
Out of blue, Barhama, whose name signifies “bringer of peace” ditched his salaried job, convinced here has more to offer than merely going to work.
His move to stop working instigated talks he was perhaps possessed or witchcraft had gotten to him or so his family thought.
“I didn’t know how to explain it because I was seeing something they were not seeing but it came a time they understood. Today they (my family) believe me more than anything,” he said in a recent interview with one of the local tabloids last year.
Today, the 28-year-old is one of the finest singers and was one of stars picked recently during a musical European tour of Scandinavia.
His golden voice is unmistakable and possess a skill set his peers do not have -playing the guitar to perfection.
A resident of Sanchaba Sulay Jobe, Cham was nominated for the best dressed celebrity owing to his love for fashion.
