We chanced on this interesting article on a French website about the “Highest”, Sarkodie, and we decided to replicate it in English for our cherished readers to also enjoy. Read and don’t forget to share.
Ghanaian Rapper “Obidi” having remarkably combined Hip-Hop with its African values, Sarkodie is validated today all over the world. He is the perfect figure of African rap, a genre that now claims its place in the global industry. Zoom on the African rap icon: his difficult debut, his unique technique, his meteoric rise and his attraction for fashion.
His debut: long years in the underground
Very young, Sarkodie knows his immersion in rap. Intelligent and narrow-minded, he tackled studies between his studio sessions. The music is not rosy at first, there are long years between the dark walls of the underground. His state of mind remains unchanged, he works hard, and plans to become a rapper who will mark his generation. In 2008, he refused a job offer from a major advertising agency in Ghana and decided at that time to spare no effort to get out of the game. A real outsider of the African rap game, the professional music finally opened his Gates: he meets his first manager during a competition of rap. “At the beginning I always won the battles,” he tells anyone who wants to hear it.
Identity style: rap in dialect “Twi”
Sarkodie does hip-hop, a hip-hop that breathes Africa. Punchline accomplished, he scratches his texts inspired by his soil. The “Ghanaian hustler” is revealed as a real raw talent with a unique jerky flow and an inspiration drawn from his morals and experience. His varied musical style earned him the status of a multi-faceted rapper. He himself claims to be the fastest rapper in Africa. The best is that the Ghanaian star recalls in its original language, the “Twi”, a choice to prove that African dialects can get married with rap and get accepted on the world stage.
Among the rare African rapists “with big success”
The native of Tema (Ghana) recounts the hours spent in the studio. When he delivers “Makye”, his first album, the returns allow him to judge his first artistic performances by receiving as many critics as positive returns. He likes to work alone on beats but he collaborates a lot too. The single “Living legend” released on his second album “Rapperholic” reveals another facet of the character. A well-forged character, an assertion of his talent, he sees himself as a living legend. His journey forces respect. Between his repeated appointments to the BET Hip-hop Awards and his appearance in the BET cypher, he shows that he can contend the big headliners of American rap. He puts everyone in agreement when he collaborates in 2015 on “New Guy” with Ace Hood. The member of the label Konvict Muzik does not set limits, it is the kind of MC that seeks to break the records. The hexagon also hangs on its dynamic flow and its worked clips. Gradur is seduced, he invites the Ghanaian rapper and they return together in studio in Paris.
A love for fashion
The rapper of West Africa displayed an early attachment to fashion and stylish clothes. He shows a mixed style and sought after and does not resist the desire to create his own collections, so he launches “Sark by Yas”. His brand is specialized in the masculine looks but later he will also launch a line of women’s clothing and will even extend to children’s clothing. The ranges are rich and innovative, jeans, sweatshirts, underwear: it does not control that rap, it controls the swag!
An artist with a big heart
The man is a real beast, a toupe, a specialist in egotrip, but he also often talks about his emotions in music as on his fourth album “Mary” in memory of his grandmother who died in 2012. From a difficult childhood to what it is today, Sarkodie feels obliged to come to the aid of orphans, he loves children. Donations, charity concerts and the ambition to set up “Sarkodie Foundation”, the artist has big heart. At 29, he is a philanthropic rapper but also self-taught that continues to grow in scale. His enterprises allow him to count among the most affluent African artists, it is important for him to also share with the most deprived.
At the top of his art
On the success of his albums, from “Makye” to “Mary” through “Sarkology”, he accumulates the biggest fanbase that an African rapper has ever had. His prominent personality puts him in the annals of music as one of the greatest African rappers of all time.As role model for young people, he can share his experience, inspire more than one, give hope to some, show that away from school benches can always build an empire. His musical empire is nothing but his music, his beautiful rhymes, his intense kicking techniques, his “Twi” accents, an obsession to constantly turn to his origins by charting a path for generations Of African rap that will follow.
[VIA] translated by EonlineGhana.Com
