Ghanaian-Romanian musician Wanlov the Kubolor has shared a hilarious story from his junior high school (JHS) days that perfectly captures his playful and mischievous personality long before fame found him.
In an interview with Kwame Dadzie on Hitz FM on Thursday November 13, the “Human Being” hitmaker recalled how he was far from the ideal student — often distracted, unserious, and more interested in making his classmates laugh than in paying attention to lessons.
“When I was in JSS (JHS) 2 or 3, I didn’t like school,” he said. “While everyone was serious studying, I’d be at the back of the class drawing private parts or saying funny things that made people laugh. The teacher was always shouting, ‘Why are you disturbing back there?’”
According to him, he was notorious for disrupting lessons and even closing the books of classmates who tried to concentrate.
“If you were learning, I’d close your book — those kinds of things,” he admitted with a laugh.
But one particular day in his English Literature class changed everything and earned him a nickname that stuck with him for years.
Wanlov recalled how his teacher was explaining The Phantom of the Opera, a story he wasn’t paying much attention to. When she caught him daydreaming, she demanded that he summarise what she had just taught.
“So I said, ‘Oh please, you were talking about something spooky,’” he narrated.
The teacher, thinking he was being cheeky, called for the cane and asked him to come forward for punishment. But before he could be lashed, his classmates came to his defense.
“The other students said, ‘No, but it’s true — Phantom means ghost things, and the right word is spooky.’ So they explained to her that I was actually correct,” he said.
In a humorous twist, the teacher realised that Wanlov was right — she hadn’t known the meaning of the word “spooky.” The situation quickly turned in his favour.
“She told me to go back and sit down. But by break time, the news had spread. Everywhere I passed, people were shouting, ‘Spooky! Spooky!’”
From that day, “Spooky” became his nickname — one that followed him all the way to Adisadel College (Adisco).
The story, filled with laughter and nostalgia, reflects Wanlov’s trademark wit and nonconformist attitude, traits that have continued to define his music and personality over the years.
