I was born in Asokore, Koforidua in the eastern region of Ghana And I started schooling in a one room school house Now I can look back and say everybody was poor But we didn’t know we were poor because we had food all the time Loving family The main problem was trying to go fetch water Because there was no running water in the house The bathroom is somewhere there outside We didn’t have the clean shoes that everybody had We didn’t have good clothing It wasn’t particularly very comfortable being under British colonial domination And then I came to the United States in 1977 Just before the winter Chicago then had a murder rate of close to 1,000 a year It was a very violent city That’s when it earned it’s nickname as the Beirut on the lake But again I didn’t let that scare me I went to 63rd We used to say that 47th Street was so dangerous that if you died Your parents may not come for your body Yeah it was bad but still the city was fun Well when I had a son And I just thought that it was better to stay in Chicago to raise kids The good thing about Chicago is you learn the truth about America There is no sugarcoating nonsense in this town I was scared though, I got scared because I thought you could be shot When you started getting in trouble I started graying I started graying very fast My heart is beating and I was having nightmares because you were having real problems with the police Anytime I’m called to come and look for the police station where my son could be I was scared that one of these days I maybe called to the mortuary to identify your body Your growing up in Chicago gave me a lot of heart ache and head ache But around the time you did the Innanetape The enthusiasm with which you handled that And the friends all around you How mature they become All of you Made me think these kids have made it I think my father in his grave would be very happy that I brought up some good kids in America And particularly also I see it as a great success If I leave I have very little regrets