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| SARKODIE |
Sarkodie, the fourth of five children, was born and raised in Tema to his mother Emma Maame Aggrey, a single parent. Sarkodie started rapping at a very young age and continued throughout his educational career. He earned a degree in Graphic Design from IPMC.
Sarkodie began his instrumental career as an underground rapper; he appeared on Adom FM's popular rap competition Kasahare Level. It was through rap battles that he met his former manager Duncan Williams of Duncwills Entertainment. He also met musicians Edem and Castro who introduced him to Hammer of The Last Two, an established record producer.
Hammer decided to feature Sarkodie on two songs off the Volta Regime album after being impressed by his rap flows. After this exposure, Sarkodie recorded his debut album Makye. His first single "Baby", featuring Mugeez of the duo group R2Bees, became an instant hit and made Sarkodie a household name within the Ghanaian music industry
After battling rappers from the popular rap competiton, Kasahare Level, Sarkodie signed a record deal with Duncwills Entertainment. He released his 2009 debut album Makye, with production from Killbeatz and Jayso as well as guest appearances from Kwaw Kese, J-Town, Sway and Paedae of R2Bees.
The album received positive reviews from critics and fans. It was launched at the Accra Mall; in addition, a follow-up concert was held at Holy City Gardens in Accra.[10] In 2010, Sarkodie's "Push" and "Baby" songs were ranked ninth and thirteenth on Joy Fm's Top 50 songs of 2009, respectively.[11]
In 2011, Sarkodie released "Good Bye", "One Time For Your Mind", "You Go kill Me", "Living Legend", and "Onyame Nhyira" as lead singles off the Rapperholic album. "You Go kill Me", which features EL, was well-received throughout Ghana. Sulley Muntari, Castro, Deborah Owusu-Bonsu, X.O Senovoe, DJ Mensah and Funny Face made cameo appearances in the video.
In 2012, Sarkodie launched the Rapperholic album which received positive reviews from music critics. The album features guest appearances from Efya, Chidynma, Mugeez of R2Bees, Obrafour, Jayso, EL and others. Sarkodie went on a nationwide tour to support the album. The Rapperholic album earned Sarkodie his first BET nomination and subsequent win. Sarkodie was also featured on the BET Hip Hop Awards cypher alongside Talib Kweli, Jean Grae and Ab-Soul. He was the only African act featured on the cypher.
On October 30, 2013, Sarkodie released the official remix for his 2011 hit track "You Go Kill Me" which peaked at number 1 on various charts in Ghana. The remix features Wizkid, Ice Prince, Navio and EL.
On December 21, 2013, a concert was put together to launch the Sarkology album which was released on January 2, 2014. The launch was held at the Accra Sports Stadium. The album features guest appearances from Fuse ODG, AKA, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, 2 Face Idibia, Joey B and Efya, among others.After releasing the Sarkology album, Sarkodie released the official remix for "Adonai". The remix became an instant hit across Africa, and was featured in BBC's Capital Xtra Top 35 Afrobeats Songs.
Sarkodie launched his own record label, Sarkcess Music, in 2014. As part of the launch, he premiered the video for "Adonai" remix and "Special Someone" which features Castro and AKA, respectively. Sarkodie also released the songs "Megye Wo Girl", "Love Rocks", "Chingum", "Whine Fi Me" under the label.
On December 30, 2014, Sarkodie announced that he will release his fourth album titled Mary. The album is named after his late grandmother who died in 2012. The live recorded album is set to drop in 2015
Sarkodie often raps in his native language Twi, and is considered a "multifaceted rapper" due to the various musical styles he possess. He was ranked 8th on Forbes and Channel O's 2013 list of the Top 10 Richest/Bankable African Artistes.
Sarkodie has had the privilege of performing on the same stage with international musicians such as T-Pain, Miguel, Movado, Trey Songz,and Ludacris.
Sarkodie has also established himself as a successful entrepreneur. He owns "Sark by Yas clothing line", which was launched on April 27, 2013.The clothing line has accessories for men, women and children.[23] In 2012, he was officially unveiled as the Brand Ambassador for Samsung Electronics at the University of Ghana, Legon.As part of the event, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Pocket and Chief Hero Phones that had customized wallpapers of Sarkodie and his signature; users had the opportunity to download exclusive tracks of Sarkodie.Sarkodie also launched the Obidi Chief headphones.
In 2013, he signed an endorsement deal with FanMilk Ghana. Sarkodie is currently in partnership with Tigo Telecommunications Ghana, a brand that sponsored the 2013 Rapperholic tour.Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Sarkodie
Sarkodie is the first Ghanaian to win the BET Awards for Best International Act Africa. In 2010, he received many awards and nominations ranging from "Artist of the Year" to "Album of the Year". His sophomore album, Rapperholic, was the recipient of 3 Ghana Music Awards from 12 nominations.
Studio albums
include:
2009: Makye
2012: Rapperholic
2014: Sarkology
2015: Mary
Collaborative albums
2013: T.M.G
World tours and notable performances
On August 2011, Sarkodie kicked off his tour in the United States. He performed in several different cities including New York city, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Atlanta, Chicago, Texas and Massachusetts.
On 25 December 2011.[29] After releasing his Rapperholic album, Sarkodie performed in five different regions in Ghana as part of his Rapperholic nationwide tour.On 7 July 2012, Sarkodie toured Canada. On 16 September 2009, Sarkodie performed alongside Busta Rhymes at the Busta Rhymes live in Ghana concert.On the 27th of August 2012, Sarkodie performed at the Africa Unplugged Music Festival which was held at the Wembley Arena in London. He performed alongside R2Bees, Fally Ipupa and Iyanya. In 2012, Sarkodie joined Ludacris on stage at the 020 live concert to perform the remix of hit single how low. On 3 May 2014, Sarkodie performed at the 15th Edition of the Ghana Music Awards.[35] On 7 June 2014, Sarkodie joined Miguel on stage to perform hit single how many drinks at the MTV Africa Music Awards.
