About Kingymensah.com
Emmanuel Yawo Mensah
I was born in 1980 and grew up in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. I lived in a small room with my parents and five siblings. We were used to not having any running water. But when electricity was cut as well in 1987, I decided to escape poverty one day.
My strength and passion have always been the drums. I started drumming as a small kid and was invited to join a group when I was only 10. Since then, I devoted all my time to music. I played for churches and various groups. I taught drumming and dancing in Ghanaian schools, trained kids and founded performing groups. In 2000, I joined Hewale Sounds, a well established neo-traditional music group in Ghana, and worked with them full time.
I had gained many years experience in teaching, performing and building drums. Although my family and I were still suffering, I knew God would give us a great future. This dream finally started to take shape in 2006.
Kingy Mensah Percussions
In 2006 I met two volunteers from Europe and we became good friends. It's with their encouragement and support that I started my own business. I first opened a small shop to sell my drums locally. It didn't take long for customers abroad to get interested in my instruments: I soon started to export and officially registered "Kingy Drums and Crafts Enterprise" in 2008. Since then, my drums have been shipped to Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. My dream has come true.
The Team
The drum building at Kingy Mensah Percussions is not a "one man job". Easily 10 people can be involved in the production of one single djembe. I work with many carvers, builders, artisans and raw material suppliers. They all bring their own skills to make this business possible. And all of them can benefit from the sale of my instruments.
Drew Kidger
Drew is my good friend in England. He has helped me start my business by believing in and encouraging me. He even still sponsors this website. Thanks Drew!