Sarkodie, a stage name for Michael Owusu Addo, a rapper, and entrepreneur from Tema, Ghana, was born on July 10, 1985. Numerous awards, including the Vodafone Ghana Music Award for “Artiste of the Decade,” have been given to him in recognition of his contributions to the Ghanaian music business.
At the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards, he was revealed as the inaugural Best International Flow Act winner on BET. He is also credited with being one of the main exponents of the Azonto dance and genre.
Sarkodie (Biography) was the fourth of five children, born on July 10, 1987, and raised in Tema. After graduating from Tema Methodist Day Senior High School, he went on to IPMC and received a degree in graphic design.
Sarkodie started out as an underground rapper, competing in Kasahare Level, a well-known rap competition hosted by Adom FM.
He met Duncan Williams, his former manager, at Duncwills Entertainment while taking part in the aforementioned tournament. He also met musicians Castro and Edem, who later introduced him to renowned record producer Hammer of The Last Two. Hammer gave Sarkodie permission to record two songs for his album Volta Regime after being impressed by his rap flows.
Hammer and Sarkodie worked together to record his debut album, Makye. Killbeatz and Jayso were mostly in charge of its production. Guest appearances on the album are made by Kwaw Kese, J-Town, Sway, and Paedae of the R2Bees. Both critics and audience members gave Makye favorable reviews. A concert in Accra’s Holy City Gardens served as its main fundraiser.
Busta Rhymes and Sarkodie collaborated on a song for the Busta Rhymes Live in Ghana performance on September 16, 2009. His songs “Push” and “Baby” were voted ninth and thirteenth, respectively, on Joy FM’s Top 50 songs of 2009. “Baby,” the album’s main track, was an immediate success and helped Sarkodie gain recognition. Rapperholic, Sarkodie’s second studio album, was released in 2012. Efya, Chidynma, Mugeez of R2Bees, Obrafour, Jayso, and EL make cameo appearances on it. Five singles—”Good Bye,” “One Time for Your Mind,” “You Go Kill Me,” “Living Legend,” and “Onyame Nhyira”—were released in support of the album.
Music critics gave it favorable reviews. To promote the record, Sarkodie on a cross-country tour. Sarkodie’s first BET nomination and eventual win came as a result of Rapperholic.
The BET Hip Hop Awards cipher also included Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, and Ab-Soul in addition to Sarkodie. The sole African performer on the cipher was him.
Sarkodie began his tour of Canada on July 7, 2012. In August 2012, he performed across the country in places like New York City, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Atlanta, Chicago, Texas, and Massachusetts. Following the release of Rapperholic, Sarkodie set off on a promotional tour.
At the Africa Unplugged Music Festival on August 27, 2012, he played alongside R2Bees, Fally Ipupa, and Iyanya. Sarkodie and Ludacris played “How Low” at the 020 Live concert in 2012 together.
Sarkodie released the official remix of “You Go Kill Me” on October 30, 2013. The song landed at number one on several Ghanaian charts. Voiceovers from Wizkid, Ice Prince, Navio, and EL are included in the remix. Sarkodie released Sarkology, his third studio album, in January 2014.
The album, which was primarily recorded in Twi, has cameos by Fuse ODG, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, Timaya, 2 Face Idibia, Efya, Mugeez, Obrafour, Burna Boy, Vivian Chidid, Vector, Silvastone, Sk Blinks, Stonebwoy, Joey B, J Town, Lil Shaker, Raquel, Sian, Kofi B, and AKA. Magnom, Hammer, Killbeatz, Masterkraft, and Silverstone, among others, were responsible for its production. The Accra Sports Stadium hosted the album’s debut concert in December. The official remix of “Adonai” was released by Sarkodie.
It was included in Capital Xtra’s list of the Top 35 Afrobeats Songs and featured vocals from Castro. In 2014, Sarkodie established the Sarkcess Music record label.
He debuted the videos for “Adonai” (Remix) and “Special Someone” as part of the launch. Under this label, Sarkodie also put out the songs “Megye Wo Girl,” “Love Rocks,” “Chingum,” and “Whine Fi Me.” Sarkodie had a performance at the 15th Ghana Music Awards on May 3, 2014. At the MTV Africa Music Awards on June 7, 2014, he appeared on stage with Miguel to perform the latter’s track “How Many Drinks?” Sarkodie recorded “Africa Rising” in June 2014 in association with Mi Casa, Lola Rae, Davido, Diamond Platnumz, and Tiwa Savage for the DSTV campaign of the same name.
The goal of the campaign was to encourage Africans to get involved in neighborhood-based social investment initiatives. On June 24, 2014, the music video for “Africa Rising” was made available. Callback Dream, a South African production company, shot and directed it.
The “New Guy” song by Sarkodie, featuring Ace Hood, was released on June 10, 2015. It was made available for download on June 10, 2015, via Sarkcess Music and Ivy League Records. “New Guy” is an African hip hop and hip-hop song with alternating rap verses that were written by the two musicians and produced by CedSolo. Its lyrics discuss Sarkodie’s desire and inspiration for success.
Sarkodie paid a total of $25,000 to cover the production costs linked with the recording of “New Guy” at the beginning of 2015. Because Ace Hood is “one of the world’s most powerful rappers,” he also wanted him to be featured in the song. After his grandmother passed away in 2012, Sarkodie called his live album Mary, which was released on September 12th, 2015. Two months previously, “Mewu” was made available as the album’s lead single. At the West Hills Mall in Accra, an album signing took place. On the first day of the album’s release, Sarkodie sold over 4,000 copies.
He addressed a group of Harvard Business School students in February 2016. His speech, which had “The Art of the Hustle” as its theme, mostly discussed the difficulties faced by African musicians. In addition to speaking at the occasion, Sarkodie also performed.
On Christmas Day, Sarkodie conducted the fourth installment of his Rapperholic event. Within 72 hours after going on sale, all of the event’s tickets were gone. Additional performances at the concert were given by Fuse ODG, R2Bees, Wizkid, Samini, VVIP, Efya, and Shatta Wale. Sarkodie gave a concert with the band The Composers on March 11, 2016, at the O2’s Indigo location. DJ Abrantee served as the event’s presenter.
Sarkodie released his fifth studio album Highest on 8 September 2017. It comprises 19 songs, including 3 interludes and a bonus track. Released through Sarkcess Music and Dice Recordings, the album features guest appearances from Jesse Jagz, Moelogo, Flavour, Korede Bello, Victoria Kimani, and Big Narstie. The highest was primarily produced by Jayso, with additional production from Masterkraft, TSpize, Ced Solo, Nova, and Guilty Beatz.
Sarkodie released his debut extended play Alpha in June 2019. The 6-track EP features guest appearances from Joey B and Ebony Reigns. Sarkodie teased his collaboration with Reigns during the Ebony Reigns concert, which commemorated the late singer.
On December 20, 2019, he made available his fifth studio album, Black Love. Along with Mr. Eazi, Efya, Donae’o, Idris Elba, Stonebwoy, Tekno, Maleek Berry, Herman Suede, King Promise, and Kizz Daniel are guest artists on the album. The tracks “Party & Bullshit,” “Saara,” “Do You,” and “Can’t Let Go” were used to promote the album. Sarkodie claimed that the album explores topics of black love and relationships in an interview with OkayAfrica in November.
Due to the variety of musical genres, he can perform in, Sarkodie is referred to as a “multifaceted rapper” and frequently raps in his native Twi. One of the greatest hip-hop performers from Africa is frequently cited as Sarkodie. On their list of the Hottest African MCs in 2014, MTV Base placed him sixth.
He was voted first on Lynx TV’s list of the “Top 10 Ghanaian Rappers of All Time” in 2013.
He came in third place on AfricaRanking.com’s list of the “Top 10 African Rappers of 2015” in 2015. He was ranked among the top five hip-hop acts on the African continent by The Guardian in 2015. In both 2013 and 2015, he was listed as the eighth-richest/most bankable African artist by Forbes and Channel O.
Sarkodie established The Sarkodie Foundation, a nonprofit organization, on July 13, 2013, with the goal of helping disadvantaged kids. He gave generously to the Kasoa Royal Seed Home Orphanage.
The Sarkodie Foundation launched a “Feed the Kids” initiative in Tema on December 25, 2014, where they gave eight bags of rice, yogurt, and beverage cans to thousands of children.
They also distributed helmets, water bottles, school bags, and other supplies. The campaign was also supported by Roshi Motman, the CEO of Tigo Telecommunications, who was there. During the #EndSARS rally in Nigeria in October 2020, he expressed his worries about police violence in that country.
The Sark by Yas clothing line was introduced on April 27, 2013, and is owned by Sarkodie. Men, women, and kids can all accessorize with items from the apparel range. At the University of Ghana, Legon was formally introduced as the Samsung Electronics Brand Ambassador in 2012.
During the occasion, Samsung debuted the Samsung Galaxy Pocket and Chief Hero Phones, which featured personalized wallpapers of Sarkodie and his signature. Users could also download Sarkodie-only music. In 2013, he also introduced the Obidi Chief headphones and had a sponsorship agreement with FanMilk Ghana.
Tigo Telecommunications Ghana, a company that supported Sarkodie’s 2013 Rapperholic tour, is now a partner of his. He was chosen on October 30, 2019, during the Creative Arts Industry Forum to serve as an ambassador for the Year of Return initiative.
On July 17, 2018, Sarkodie wed Tracy in a secret ceremony in Tema, Ghana. Adalyn Owusu Addo, a girl, and Micheal Nana Yaw Owusu Addo Jr., a son named after the well-known rapper, are their two children.
Studio albums (Sarkodie)
- Makye (2009)
- Rapperholic (2012)[60]
- Sarkology (2014)
- Highest (2017)[61]
- Black Love (2019) Live albums and EPs
- Mary (2015)[62]
- Alpha (2019) Collaborative albums
- T.M.G (with Jayso)
