Guru NKZ is a Ghanaian rapper
Ghanaian rapper, Guru, has recounted how he hid behind masks and hoodies during his first days in university.
He opened up about his early difficult experience as a mature student after enrolling in the university, stating that he wore nose masks and hoodies for an entire academic year to avoid attention.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM on November 19, 2025, the rapper stated that returning to the lecture hall after being out of school for over 15 years presented unexpected emotional challenges.
According to him, although he had already achieved a lot in life and could have easily opted for online classes or mature entry programmes, he decided to begin as a regular student to experience the full academic journey.
“It was a very bad feeling because you’ve reached a certain stage in life, you’ve achieved a lot in terms of what life brings. Going back to the lecture hall to study. If I really wanted to study something, I could just do that online or prefer going for the mature classes.
“It aligns with the age and things which we’ve reached in life. I decided to nullify that part, just focus and go for the regular student level,” he said.
However, blending in with much younger Gen Z students made the transition uneasy.
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Guru disclosed that during his first year, he felt extremely shy and uncomfortable, often entering the classroom with one of his boys for support.
“That’s very difficult, the reason is, you’re going to be in a class with the Gen Zs so that’s the difficult part of it. When I first entered, I was just wearing nose masks and hoodies. I was too shy so anytime I’m entering class, I go with one of my boys,” he shared.
Guru explained that the feeling of being watched or talked about made it difficult for him to settle in, especially since he was not used to being in a classroom environment for such a long time.
“I realised it wasn’t feeling appropriate because these are harmless people so you just have to feel free and stay focused. Entering class for the first time, the class was noisy and I felt they were gossiping about me,” he noted.
He continued, “It wasn’t a good feeling. I didn’t know if what they were discussing was good or bad. The mixed feelings made me uncomfortable being in there or maybe because that’s my first time in class in 15 years.”
Guru added that he kept the mask on throughout his entire first academic year before gradually becoming more confident.
“Eventually, I started getting used to it. I used the mask for a whole academic year. I changed when I was in level 200-300, I started feeling free and I started coming out of my shell,” he added.
FG/EB
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