Sarkodie Biography

Michael Owusu Addo (born July 10, 1988) popularly known as Sarkodie is an award-winning Ghanaian rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur from Tema. He has contributed a lot to the Ghanaian music industry and that has earned him recognition both national and international. He has won several including 2019 first winner of BET’s Best International Flow artist at the BET Hip Hop Awards. He is one of the originators of the Azonto genre and dance.

Early Life and Education

Michael Owusu Addo, also known as Sarkodie, was born on July 10, 1988, in a family of five, as the fourth child of the family. He grew up in Koforidua and later moved to Tema with his parents and started schooling over there.

Sarkodie went to Tema Methodist Day Senior High School and later to IPMC, where he was awarded a degree in graphic design.

Career

Sarkodie started his music career as a rapper and went on to participate in the rap competition Kasahare Level hosted by Adom FM. He met his former manager, Duncan Williams of Duncwills Entertainment, while at the competition. He was fortunate to meet couples of musicians like Edem and Castro, and they introduced him to an independent record producer named Hammer of the Last Two. Hammer was impressed by Sarkodie’s rap flows; he allowed him to record two tracks for Edem maiden album, Volta Regime.

2009–2012: Makye and Rapperholic

After his collaboration with Hammer, Sarkodie began to record his debut album, titled Makye. The album production was coordinated by Killbeatz and Jayso. He features artists like Kwaw Kesell, J-Town, Sway, and Paedae of R2Bees. The album has positive reviews from fans.

He supported the album with a concert that took place at Holy City Gardens in Accra. On September 16, 2009, Sarkodie also performed at the Busta Rhymes Concert Live in Ghana. His singles “Push” and “Baby” ranked 9th and 13th in 2010 on Joy FM’s Top 50 songs of 2009. The lead single “Baby” off his album, which features Mugeez of R2Bees, became an instant hit, and it helped him get more exposure.

Sarkodie released his second studio album titled “Rapperholic“ in 2012. Musicians like Efya, Chidynma, Mugeez of R2Bees, Obrafour, Jayso, and EL appeared on the album, which was supported by five singles: “Good Bye”, “One Time For Your Mind”, “You Go Kill Me”, “Living Legend,” and “Onyame Nhyira.” The album was welcomed by his fans with positive reviews.

He went on a nationwide tour in other to give the album massive support. Sarkodie received his first BET nomination through Rapperholic. Sarkodie was also featured on the BET Hip Hop Awards cypher alongside Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, and Ab-Soul which made him the only African artist featured on the cypher.

On July 7, 2012, Sarkodie started his tour in Canada and began the United States tour in August 2012, in which he performed in cities and states like New York City, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Atlanta, Chicago, Texas, and Massachusetts. He also performed alongside R2Bees, Fally Ipupa, and Iyanya at the Africa Unplugged Music Festival on August 27. Sarkodie performed “How Low” with Ludacris at the 02 Live concerts that happened in 2012.

2013–2014: Sarkology, Sarkcess Music, and Africa Rising Campaign

Sarkodie released the official remix of “You Go Kill Me” on October 30, 2013, where he featured Wizkid, Ice Prince, Navio, and El on the remix; the song topped various charts in Ghana. In January 2014, Sarkodie released his third studio album, “Sarkology” which was majorly recorded in the Twi language. He featured musicians like Fuse ODG, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Banky W., Timaya, 2 Face Idibia, Efya, Mugeez, Obrafour, Burna Boy, Vivian Chidid, Vector, Silverstone, Sk Blinks, Stonebwoy, Joey B, J Town, Lil Shaker, Raquel, Sian, Kofi B, and AKA. Producers like Magnom, Hammer, Killbeatz, Masterkraft, and Silverstone are among the producers that worked on the album. He did an album launch concert at Accra Sports Stadium in December.

Sarkodie was among the Top 35 Afrobeats songs on Capital Xtra’s list and released the official remix of “Adonai” which features Castro.

Sarkodie launched his own record label, “Sarkcess Music,” in 2014 and premiered the video for “Adonai” (remix) and “Special Someone.” He also released the songs “Megye Wo Girl,” “Love Rocks,” “Chingum,” and “Whine Fi Me” under the label.

On May 3, 2014, he performed at the 15th edition of the Ghana Music Awards event. On June 7, 2014, he also performed “How Many Drinks” with  Miguel at the MTV Africa Music Awards.

Sarkodie recorded the song “Africa Rising” in June 2014, and collaborated with Mi Casa, Lola Rae, Davido, Diamond Platnumz, and Tiwa Savage. The song is for DSTV’s campaign. The campaign was dedicated to getting Africans to partake in community-based social investment projects. The music video for “Africa Rising” was shot and directed by South African production house Callback Dream, which was released on June 24, 2014.

2015–2018: Mary and Highest

Sarkodie released “New Guy” featuring American artist Ace Hood through Sarkcess Music and Ivy League Records. The song was written by two artists and produced by CedSolo. He paid $25,000 for “New Guy” production in early 2015. He considered Ace Hood on the track because he is “one of the world’s most powerful rappers.”

On September 12, 2015, Sarkodie released another album named Mary, he named it after his grandmother who died in 2012. He released “Mewu” as the lead single from the album two months before the release. The album sold nearly 4,000 copies on the first day of its release. In February 2016, he spoke about the challenges associated with African musicians at an event hosted by a group of Harvard Business School students. Themed “The Art of the Hustle,” Sarkodie also performed at the event following his speech.

Sarkodie sold out his fourth edition of Rapperholic concert tickets within 72 hours of its release, and the event happened on Christmas Day. The following artists performed at the concert, Fuse ODG, R2Bees, Wizkid, Samini, VVIP, Efya, and Shatta Wale. On March 11, 2016, he performed at an event hosted by DJ Abrantee with the music band The Composers at The O2‘s Indigo venue.

On 8 September 2017, Sarkodie released his fifth studio album titled Highest. He released the album under Sarkcess and Dice recordings, which comprises 19 tracks and features guest appearances from Jesse Jagz, Moelogo, Flavour, Korede Bello, Victoria Kimani, and Big Narstie. It was majorly produced by Jayso, with additional production from Masterkraft, TSpize, Ced Solo, Nova, and Guilty Beatz.

2019: Alpha and Black Love

Sarkodie released a 6-track extended play titled Alpha in June 2019. He featured Joey B and Ebony Reigns on the EP. His fifth studio album titled “Black Love” was released on December 20, 2019. it featured artists such as Mr. Eazi, Efya, Donae’o, Idris Elba, Stonebwoy, Tekno, Maleek Berry, Herman Suede, King Promise, and Kizz Daniel on the album.

The album includes his previously released singles “Party & Bullshit”, “Saara,” “Do You” and “Can’t Let Go“. Sarkodie explained to OkayAfrica in an interview in November that the album explores themes of black love and relationships. He announced his upcoming album “No Pressure” on April 19, 2021, by uploading a trailer on YouTube, in anticipation of what fans would expect from the album.

2021: No Pressure Album

Sarkodie finally releases the album, No Pressure, on July 30, 2021. The album consists of artists like Wale, Vic Mensa, Giggs, Cassper Nyovest, Harmonize, Oxlade, Kwesi Arthur, Darko Vibes, Medikal, and MOGmusic.

Business and Endorsement

Sarkodie was the founder of the Sark by Yas clothing line, which was launched on April 27, 2013. They deal with different types of clothing lines such as accessories for men, women, and children. In 2012, he became a brand ambassador for Samsung Electronics, which was officially unveiled at the University of Ghana, Legon. Samsung also unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Pocket and Chief Hero phones with customized wallpapers of Sarkodie and his signature at the event, and users were opportune to download exclusive tracks by Sarkodie.

He also unveiled the Obidi Chief headphones and signed an endorsement deal with FanMilk Ghana in 2013. Sarkodie is currently in partnership with a brand that sponsored his 2013 Rapperholic Tour, which is Tigo Telecommunications Ghana.

Sarkodie also has endorsement deals with Standard Chartered Bank and Guinness Ghana Limited for their malt drink products. He was appointed as an ambassador for Year of Return On 30 October 2019. In March 2021, Sarkodie did another campaign for Pepsodent, a leading toothpaste in Ghana, with his daughter. The campaign encouraged parents and guardians to start a daily and nightly tooth brushing routine with their children.

Philanthropy

On July 13, 2013, Sarkodie launched a non-profit organization, “The Sarkodie Foundation.” He used this to support underprivileged children. He made donations to the Royal Seed Home Orphanage in Kasoa. The Foundation campaign “Feed the kids| in Tema, Ghana On December 25, 2014, they provided bags of rice, yogurt, beverage cans, school bags, water bottles, hats, and other items for thousands of kids. The CEO of Tigo Telecommunications, Roshi Motman, was also in attendance to support the campaign.

Recognition

Sarkodie always raps in Ghanaian, which is the native language, “Twi”. He is considered one of Africa’s greatest hip-hop artists. He was ranked sixth by MTV Base on the list of the hottest African MCs in 2014. In 2013, he was also first on Lynx TV’s list of the “Top 10 Ghanaian Rappers of All Time.”

In 2015, he was ranked third by AfricaRanking.com on the list of the “Top 10 African rappers of 2015”. In 2015, Sarkodie was named one of the top five hip-hop acts on the African continent by The Guardian. Forbes and Channel O’s ranked him 8th in the 2013 and 2015 lists of the Top 10 Richest/Bankable African Artists. In 2020, he also won “Artiste of the Year” during the Ghana Music Awards USA (GMA USA).

Personal Life

Sarkodie got married to Tracy in a private wedding ceremony that took place in Tema, Ghana on July 17, 2018. They are blessed with two children named, Adalyn Owusu Addo and a son, Michael Nana Yaw Owusu Addo Jr., named in honor of the famous rapper.

Discography

• Studio albums

• Makye (2009)

• Rapperholic (2012)

• Sarkology (2014)

• Highest (2017)

• Black Love (2019)

• No pressure – (2021)

• Live albums and EPs

• Mary (2015)

• Alpha (2019)

• Collaborative albums

• T.M.G (with Jayso) (2013)

Award	Wins	Nominations
Ghana Music Awards	26	70
Independent Music Awards	1	1
Nigeria Entertainment Awards	2	3
MOBO	0	2
channel O music Awards	0	3
sound city Music videos	3	4
Caribbean American and Africa Nation Music Award	1	1
Ben TV Awards	1	1
Ghana Music Honors	2	2
African Muzik Magazine Awards	2	2
BET Awards	2	4
MTV Africa Music Awards	1	3
World Music Awards	0	4
The Future Africa Awards	0	1
City People Entertainment Awards	0	1
National Youth Achievement	1	1
4syte Music Video Awards	20	41
Ghana Event Awards	1	2
African Entertainment Legend Awards	1	0
Ghana music Awards UK	7	7
Youtube Sub Sahara Africa Creator Awards	1	0
Ghana Kids Choice Awards	1	0
EMY Awards	1	0
International Reggae and World Music Awards	1	0
MOGO Awards	1	1
Bass Award	2	3
Afrobeats Music Awards	1	1
Museke Online African Music Awards	1	1
Ovation Red Carol &Awards	1	1
The Headies	3	3
Ghana Music Awards USA	4	2
Ghana DJ Awards	1	0
BET Hip Hop Awards	1	0
African Entertainment Awards USA	1	0
MTV European Music Award	0	1
HiPipo Music Awards	1	0
All Africa Music Awards	1	0
Ghana Entertainment Awards	2	3
Entertainment Achievement Awards	1	0
Daf BAMA Awards	1	0
3 Music Awards	14	31
Totals	106	191

Sarkodie Net Worth

Sarkodie is one of the most successful rapper in both Ghana and Africa continent, his net worth is estimated to $7-10 million.

Social Media Handles

• Instagram @sarkodie

• Twitter @sirkodie