Philipa Baafi Drops ‘Enko Akyiri’ — Owura-Produced Twi Call-and-Response Prayer of Protection Out Now

Every Ghanaian mother has a sentence she fires at bad news before it can even sit down. Somebody mentions an accident, a sickness or a strange dream, and immediately you hear it: “Enko akyiri!” May it be far. Let it not come near. It is half prayer, half reflex, and fully Ghanaian. Now veteran gospel voice Philipa Baafi has taken that everyday declaration and turned it into a full song. Her new single “Enko Akyiri (May It Be Far From Me)” is a Twi prayer of protection built for church choirs, family devotions and every auntie who has ever spat “God forbid” at the evening news.

The single arrived on Friday, 16 October 2026 through Ziiki Media, and it is her first brand-new single since “Possible” in 2024. For a woman whose voice has been in Ghanaian churches since 1999, this is not a comeback so much as a reminder: the mother is still in the house, and she has come with fresh anointing.

⚡ The Drop in 30 Seconds

“Enko Akyiri” runs 3:47 and was written by Philipa Baafi herself, with Daniel Yeboah (Owura) handling both production and mastering. It is sung in Twi, built on a call-and-response chorus, and its heart is one line: “Enko akyiri, emma no emma me so”, meaning “May it be far away; let it not come upon me.” The section that starts around the 1:20 mark is the centre of a digital campaign inviting women, choirs, churches, gospel groups and families in Ghana and the diaspora to record their own version of the declaration and share it. So yes, your church’s women’s fellowship now has homework. It lands in a strong season for Ghana gospel, just days after Diana Hamilton’s testimony anthem “W’ate M’anim”.

📌 Quick Facts

Song	Enko Akyiri (May It Be Far From Me)
Artist	Philipa Baafi
Released	16 October 2026
Length	3:47
Producer	Daniel Yeboah (Owura)
Mastering	Daniel Yeboah (Owura)
Writer	Philipa Baafi
Label	Ziiki Media
Language	Twi
Genre	Ghana gospel / Praise and prayer

🎧 Watch & Listen: “Enko Akyiri”

The Vibe: A Prayer Meeting You Can Sing Back

This is not a song you just listen to. It is a song you answer. Philipa leads, the chorus responds, and before the first minute is done you will catch yourself replying “Enko akyiri!” like you are in the front row at an all-night service. That call-and-response style is old Ghanaian church technology, the same one that has kept congregations awake at Friday vigils for generations, and Philipa uses it perfectly. She is not preaching at you. She is inviting you to stand with her and declare.

The message is simple but deep. Life in Ghana comes with plenty of uncertainty: hospital bills, job wahala, family palaver, roads that do not forgive. “Enko Akyiri” does not pretend those things are not real. Instead it teaches you to look them in the face and refuse them as your portion. As the release statement puts it, “There are things we refuse to accept as our portion.” That is the spirit of the whole record: faith with its sleeves rolled up. And the call-and-response chorus means it will travel fast through choirs, TikTok church clips and family WhatsApp groups. Do not be surprised when your grandma sends you a voice note of her own version.

The Cover: Sunshine, Smiles and Total Confidence

The artwork matches the song’s mood. Philipa beams at the camera with long dark curls, pearl earrings and a crisp white outfit, one hand raised to her cheek, glowing against a bright golden sunburst. The title “Enko Akyiri” sits across the front in big white and yellow letters, with “May it be far from me” written underneath. It is the face of a woman who has prayed through things and come out smiling, which is exactly the energy the song is selling.

Who Is Philipa Baafi?

Philipa Baafi was born in Kumasi and started singing at the Bantama Methodist Church, where she discovered her gift at just nine years old. Even as a child, she would move from church to church around Kumasi to minister. She later attended St. Monica’s Secondary School at Asante Mampong, where she was Girls’ Prefect and led the Scripture Union. Her road was not smooth. She lost both parents early, and she has spoken about how her family once strongly opposed her music, at one point leaving her to battle things out on her own. She kept singing anyway.

Her debut album Nyame Honhom Sane came out in 1999, followed by Mogya Na Akasa and Okyeso Nyame. Then came the songs that made her a household name: “Yesu Ye Me Last Stop”, the joyful “I Go Dance” and the unstoppable “Go High”, songs that filled church auditoriums, funerals and wedding receptions across the country. She won Female Consistent Artist at the 2007 Summer Awards, and her duet “Me Gye Me Din” with Celestine Donkor became one of her best-loved records, racking up millions of YouTube views. Hits like “Dee Aba Wonsam Afe Yi”, “Nkwa” and “Hallelujah” kept her name strong, and in 2024 she returned with “Eda Ho Pefee” and “Possible”. Off the mic, she is a trained beauty therapist, a wife to Kwame Karikari and a proud mother of triplets.

She belongs to the generation of Ghanaian gospel women who built the genre’s foundation, and she stands in the same tradition as the late Bernice Offei, whose passing in September reminded the whole country how much these voices mean to us.

Why “Enko Akyiri” Matters Now

Ghana gospel is having a busy season. Younger acts like Piesie Esther are pulling big numbers, while collaborations like Alex Acheampong and Obaapa Christy’s “Nyame Baako Pɛ” keep the Twi praise tradition alive. Into that crowded room walks Philipa Baafi, a woman with over two decades of hits, and she does not try to sound like the new kids. She sounds like herself: warm, rooted, unmistakably Ghanaian.

That is why this single matters. With so much gospel today chasing big worship-ballad trends, “Enko Akyiri” goes back to what made Ghanaian church music special in the first place: songs in our own language that everybody can sing back, built on the prayers people already say every day. The participation campaign also gives the song a real chance to spread from the bottom up, through choirs, women’s groups and families rather than just radio. In a year where many people are carrying heavy loads, a song that says “this trouble is not my portion” could be exactly the prayer Ghana needs on repeat. Enko akyiri, abeg.

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