“The Other Kid From Akron” Returns to Boston

Written by Urban Coordinator Amyah Bishop
Photos by Urban Coordinator Maverick Shin

On the evening of November 3rd 300 people filed into City Winery in anticipation to watch three time Emmy nominated multi-talented pianist Kofi B. take the stage. 

As someone who hadn’t previously heard of him, I could tell from the moment he stepped on stage dressed head to toe in a sparkly suit that dazzled under the intimate lighting that the venue created, I had been in for a treat. 

Also known as “The Other Kid From Akron,” Kofi immediately brought his personality to the stage, running in circles as he shouted out to crowd driving engagement that sent laughter and excitement throughout the space. 

The show opened with an upbeat jazzy song that made it impossible not to bop your head through as the music flowed through the room. Looking around everyone had quickly begun to lose focus on the meals they had ordered, their attention solely focused on the talent presented to them. 

Joining him on stage in his band was Mandela Woods, Beasley, C.J., Harrison, Sledge, and Gold Frame. In fact, throughout the show Kofi made it a point to constantly interact with each of his members. Sometimes engaging in conversation about how they were doing, and calling out to the audience to give each member on multiple occasions the applause that was more than well deserved.

Before the show moved on, Kofi had taken a moment to call back to his roots in Boston, having attended Berklee’s College of Music in 2019, to now perform for the first time in his college city with a sold out crowd. 

From the beginning of his career Kofi B. has always pushed himself. In 2018 he earned a Silver medal after participating in the NAACP ACT-SO National Competition, an award bestowed upon a number of VIP artists and musicians from actor and comedian Anthony Anderson, to multi-Grammy winner Lauryn Hill. 

Dabbling in a number of different multimedia platforms, in 2021 he founded his own media production company BlaBoak which since then has gotten two Emmy nominations in 2022 for exceptional interviews and musical content. 

That same year, he also won “Amateur Night at the Apollo” at Harlem’s historic Apollo theater becoming the first winner to then become host, a role held by many other well known names such as Steve Harvey, Sinab, and Whoopi Goldberg. 

Just when you’d think there couldn’t be more that the 27 year old has had on his resume, his acting debut came in 2022 (which seems to have been a lucky year for him) with his role as Whitney Houston’s pianist in the biographical film “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. 

Bringing “The Soulful Tour” to Boston almost seemed as a full circle moment starting in the city that was there during such pivotal moments of his early career form when he was just a student. 

Throughout his performance there was a constant flowing energy in the room brought on by his own dancing: A foot tapping here, his arms flailing both eloquently and dramatically as he slammed on the keys, the way he would tilt his head back and forth to the rhythm made the whole room come alive. 

His pieces consisted of clever mixes, creating a medley between songs that otherwise are complete;y unrelated. The ‘awe’ that left my own mouth, and the mouths of others when we heard the first few chords of the familiar theme to “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” or the voices that joined in singing to “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. 

Even laughter when he began to play the classic Iphone ringtone, then feigning ignorance asking who forgot to turn off their phone in the crowd which caused laughter to erupt in the room. 

The Soulful Tour certainly brought more than soul to Boston, and Kofi made sure at the end to give more to his fans by staying behind to take pictures and talk with anyone who was near. There have been a number of concerts I’ve attended from artists I did not priorly know, and it’s safe to say Kofi B. has become a favorite all without ever singing a note.