User:EL PIDIO DALMEIDA

Elpidio Dalmeida is a contemporary artiste of Ghanaian, Togolese and Portuguese descent. He was born and raised in Accra. Elpidio attended several schools for his basic education and finally attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School where he studied General Arts. He then proceeded to Central University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting having switched from studying Human Resources. Elpidio describes himself as a visionary artist.

Elpidio’s approach to life stems from what he describes as a complicated childhood. He recounts that his single parenting background contributed to his solitary nature.

To escape this solitude, Elpidio resorted to reading. An avid reader, he indicates that this habit influenced his perception of life on issues such as relationships, business and leadership.

His versatile interests which include music, creative writing, art, philosophy, entrepreneurship, boxing and chess have contributed to his creativity and art which appeal to different people.

Owing to varied interests, his career choices have never been clear-cut. At a point, Elpidio wanted to develop professions in masonry, aeronautical engineering and law, dreams he ditched for different reasons. He attributes these choices to the instability in his family life; perhaps a quest towards probing his ancestry and finding himself.

He started his career as an entrepreneur in secondary school to supplement his allowance to meet his fancy for sneakers. He sold mp3 CDs to benefit from the hip hop rave during that era. He also took up summer jobs as a sales representative. This, he says helped him develop his interpersonal skills. Eventually, he landed an accounts clerk position which he eventually lost interest in and resigned from. Over the period, Elpidio nurtured a reading culture, he kept a journal to document his opinions on various schools of thoughts. Through this, his creative writing abilities were birthed. He decided to publish a book which was rejected by various publishing houses. He eventually became a self – publishing author and set up a publishing company with some friends. Though the partnership didn’t last, Elpidio continued with this venture which afforded him with a space to express his creativity.

Music, he believes represents self-expression and natural progression from the art of writing. Venturing into sound engineering and rap music during secondary school was discouraging as he didn’t gain the necessary recognition for his talents. Years later, he met a Ghanaian music veteran who encouraged him to pursue both interests in music and authorship, tailoring them to different target audience; music for the youth and books to the much older generation. Initially, this posed a challenge in exploring his niche. However, he has been able to create a unique blend of music infused with rap and poetry.

Dalmeida’s ethos revolves around love and believes that all sane principles stem from it. The search for perfection and failure keeps him grounded. To him, freedom is an expression of thought open to all people. For him, inspiration is fuelled through a higher power in his life, experiences and nature. He identifies as either a conformist and non-conformist through his perceptions and beliefs. Elpidio Dalmeida is a deep thinker and indulges in introspection. He appreciates the art of self-discovery; thus, we can probe all the answers we seek from within. He thrives on connections and interactions with people. For him, his varied genre of music tells a story, encouraging people to discover their purpose.

People’s self-discovery stories give him fulfilment. He identifies as a creative genius who wants to be remembered for his influence on people’s outlook and finding themselves.