Rapper Edem has noted the ‘wo nim red’ trend has come to the notice of his 10-year-old son, highlighting the prevalence of drug abuse in the country among young people.

He spoke to Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM’s Ayekoo Ayekoo, indicating his 10-year-old son came to him recently while he was in the kitchen preparing food for him, and asked him what the meaning of ‘wo nim red’ which translates as ‘do you know red’ was.

Edem said he was amazed the trend about the recreational usage of a highly potent tramadol drug had come to the attention of his son who was not exposed to the streets of the city, being the student of an international school, and usually moving between home, school and church.

“I explained it to him, that it’s a drug. I don’t know what drug it is, and that ‘wo nim’ is ‘do you know’ in Akan and ‘red’ is probably the name of the drug. He said people are talking about it in school that, ‘Wo nim red? Wo nim red?’,” the multiple award-winning musician narrated on.

For Edem, the incident highlighted drug abuse was trendy and “is a problem”.

The influential musician announced he was “willing to be part of a campaign for no money, for no cost. Freely, I will commit to any campaign that will be able to propagate [the word against drug abuse]”.

He warned his audience sitting aloof would not help remedy the situation since their loved ones could become victims of rampant drug use among the youth.

“And I have taken people to rehab and paid money before so I know what these things can do to you,” he noted.

The Ghetto Arise hitmaker, demonstrating he knew the said drug was popular especially among the youth of poor communities, encouraged vulnerable young people to commit to improving their circumstances and resist sinking deeper into despair and poverty.

“And every ghetto boy listening, the goal is to make money, the goal is to take care of your parents, the goal is to leave where we all came from and be something better than who we were yesterday. So, chale, stay away from the drugs,” he exhorted.

Edem posited it was not possible to get rid of ghettoes because even first-world countries had them. He had cheerier comments, thereafter, however.

“But what I tell everybody is, a ghetto is not where you stay. A ghetto is where your mind stays. So there are people in ghettos whose minds are not ghettos and that’s how they leave [the situation]. Let your mind not be the ghetto,” he challenged.

The rapper and singer-songwriter cautioned that a mind given to destructive beliefs and practices of the ghetto would cause an individual to destroy the best of environments even if they relocated from the ghetto.

“When I sang Ghetto Arise, it was about the mind, and not the place,” he stressed.

He highlighted he grew up in the slums of Accra Newtown where he “stayed in a chamber and hall house that had 13 chamber and halls in one compound, six bathrooms behind.

“Some of the people I grew up with are in jail, some of them are drug addicts.”

He noted if he had successfully escaped the destructive pitfalls of his humble beginnings, it was “because I didn’t let my mind be the ghetto.

“Read, try to empower yourself, there are so many channels on YouTube, watch them, and then you’ll see that once your mind is not a ghetto, it’ll help your body to be moving in a positive direction.”