Today we’d like to introduce you to Nana Kofi Kusi-Boadum.
Hi Nana Kofi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I never really had a clear plan for my life growing up, just a series of fleeting interests that I followed wherever they led. Most of my early education was rooted in science, and I had no formal training in the arts. Yet, I felt a constant pull towards creativity. As early as junior high, I was experimenting with rap as a form of storytelling, even though I never set out to become an artist.
That pull toward creativity stayed with me, even through six years in a health science–heavy Doctor of Pharmacy program. Looking back, I sometimes think art started as an escape from the heavy science, but over time, it became much more than that. As my interests expanded, I began to see art not just as expression, but as a powerful tool for communication. That realization led me into multimedia work, including photography, and film.
When I transitioned into my PhD in Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, everything finally clicked. I saw a way to bring both sides of my identity together: my scientific training and my creative instincts, by using art to communicate the science of mental health in ways that are culturally relevant and emotionally resonant.
Over the past five years, I’ve leaned into that intersection. Through poetic storytelling rap music, film, and photography, I’ve focused on translating everyday psychosocial experiences into stories that people can see themselves in. These are the stories that give meaning to the science.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. For a long time, I felt like I was living between two worlds that didn’t quite understand each other. It’s not common to see someone fully committed to a PhD in neuroscience while also actively building a life as an artist, so I constantly had to juggle what felt like two full-time roles.
One of my biggest challenges was defining my identity. In artistic spaces, I was seen as a “conscious, storytelling rapper” who just happened to enjoy science. In scientific spaces, I was a pharmacist and neuroscientist-in-training who just happened to love music. The intersection of those two worlds wasn’t always recognized, and that came with a lot of pressure. Those perceptions created expectations. In the art world, if I went months without releasing music, it could be seen as a lack of commitment. In science, my creative work could sometimes be interpreted as a distraction or misplaced priority. For a while, that tension made it difficult to feel fully grounded in either space.
What changed for me was taking ownership of my identity. Once I defined myself as a science communicator (someone who uses art to translate complex ideas and human experiences) I found clarity. That didn’t remove the challenges, but it made the weight of external expectations much lighter. I understood that choosing this path might mean letting go of certain traditional definitions of success in both spaces, and I’ve made peace with that.
There also is the good old funding challenge. For the most part I have had to be my own photo and videographer, studio manager, promoter, A&R, and social media manager. I have been blessed with a community that is also happy to lend a helping hand, and that’s how I have been able to keep this going. Organically pushing the finished product, however, requires investments that you can’t short circuit.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a storytelling rap artist, using linear story-form concept albums to address everyday psychosociocultural issues that are most germane to mental health. Each year, I build a project around a central theme I’ve personally experienced, telling true, human-centered stories through music, film, and visual media. A unifying idea across my work is a concept I introduced in 2022 called “5foot3,” which I define as a personal shortcoming or imperfection—pun intended. You’ve probably noticed by now that it’s often difficult to deliver a meaningful message while maintaining high-level creative lyricism, but I take pride in doing both. That ability to pair strong storytelling with intentional craft, whether through rhyme schemes, flow patterns, references, or even switching across languages within a single record, makes me stand out not only as a gifted artist, but also as an impactful mental health advocate and science communicator. As a christian, my faith also bleeds into my work because it shapes my perspective, the way I see weakness and strength and it grounds the stories I choose to tell.
My debut EP “5foot3” (2022) explored inferiority complex as a gateway for a myriad of social challenges. “Greetings from Abroad” (2023) focused on my own fear of failure (atychiphobia) through the lens of an immigrant experience. ‘Addicts Anonymous” (2024) was scripted as a group therapy session, telling stories of different forms of addiction. Most recently, “This Ability” (2025) , based on the true life experience of Emmanuel Eckow “Clock” Amoako, explored disability stigma through a fully immersive audiovisual experience, combining rap and choral music, spoken word, interviews, and film.
Impact! that’s what i am most proud of. Beyond creating the work itself, the writing, self-filming, editing, and collaborating, I’ve seen these stories resonate in real ways, from being used as case studies in university classrooms to receiving personal messages from individuals who’ve found clarity, comfort, or even healing through them. That’s what drives me.
What sets me apart is my ability to merge scientific understanding with artistic storytelling. I’m not just creating art for expression, I’m creating it with intention, using it as a tool to communicate complex human experiences in ways that people can both understand and FEEL.
What’s next?
As an addiction scientist with dreams of retiring in policy, I see a future in which I am able to collaborate with reputable mental health organizations on audiovisual projects and campaigns that influence change. I also have my heart set on popularizing the use of art as a channel for impactful science communication. I am still actively exploring opportunities that bring me closer to this dream. I believe this will also be a genius opportunity for very artsy individuals who hold on dearly to science dreams, I am a living testimony that a person does not necessarily have to choose one or the other.
This has become even more imperative for me, now that I wrap up with my doctoral degree and look to transition into the real world. In the way of art, I have been sitting on a cyberbullying project for about a year now, and I look forward to rolling it out after my defense.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kookusi_jnr/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nana-kofi-kusi-boadum-pharmd-83730ab3/
- Twitter: https://x.com/Kookusi_Jnr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNCyfUqeUX0PAjurM7sdyrg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1qRBRlrxzn5JgCwLGKWz8p
Image Credits
Joel Mutsinzi
