Sarkodie started rapping as a kid and was an ‘underground’ rapper for a long time, fighting for a chance to hit the limelight. His tongue-twisting raps and incredible flow garnered the attention of legendary Ghanaian producer Hammer of the Last Two, who brought him to the limelight in the late 2000s.
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Born Michael Owusu Addo, Sarkodie is married with two children. He is a BET award winner and one of the most awarded Ghanaian musicians of all time, alongside self-proclaimed dancehall king, Shatta Wale.
Background
Sarkodie was born on July 10, 1985. He hails from Juaso, in the Ashanti Region, but grew up in the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua. His family later relocated to Tema. Sarkodie was the fourth child out of 5.
Education & Career Beginnings
Sarkodie attended Tema Methodist Day Senior High School. He proceeded to the tech-focused IPMC College, graduating with a degree in Graphic design.
Sarkodie was a rapper/singer throughout high school and spent a lot of time in the studio, according to a former teacher. “We knew he was going to do music because anytime he was done with school, he went to the studio,” former teacher William Okantah said.
In the early 2000s, Sarkodie fought hard to make his dream a reality. Unable to break through, he entered multiple rap competitions to raise his profile, including the long-running Kasahare Level on Adom Fm, hosted by one Dr Duncan (real name Duncan Williams). Kasahare Level was a battle rap competition pitting rappers against each other to showcase their lyrical prowess. Sarkodie quickly became a fan favourite on the show, routinely ‘murdering’ other rappers on the mic. He later revealed his toughest battle was against fellow Tema-based rapper cum AMG Business label boss, Criss Waddle.
After his exploits on Kasahare Level, Sarkodie came to the attention of arguably Ghana’s premier rap producer, Edwin Nana Poku Osei, popularly known as Hammer of the Last Two, who signed both him and Ewe language rapper Edem to record deals. Hammer was working on Edem’s maiden album at the time and roped Sarkodie into appearing on two tracks on the record. Sarkodie’s double-time delivery on the single ‘You Dey Craze’ stole the headlines and finally gained him mainstream attention to match his talent.
Albums
After blowing up due to his appearance on Hammer’s tracks, Sarkodie parted ways with the producer, as he felt the former was too engaged with promoting Edem’s career. He proceeded to sign a record deal with Duncwills Entertainment, the label of his former mentor and Kasahare Level host, Dr Duncan.
Sarkodie went ahead to release his maiden album, ‘Makye’ (2009), featuring major hits such as Push, Baby (feat. Mugeez of R2Bees) and Borga (feat. Jay So).
His second album, ‘Rapperholic’, was released in 2012 and again featured massive hits, including Nyame Ehyira (feat. Castro), I’m In Love with You (feat. Efya) and You Go Kill Me (feat. EL). Rapperholic, generally considered Sarkodie’s magnum opus, earned Ghana her first ever BET award, as Sarkodie won the Best International Act (Africa) award at the 2012 BET Awards. It also spawned his annual Christmas concert, Rapperholic.
Sarkodie’s third album, Sarkology, was released in 2014. Sarkology had a more international feel, featuring artists including Fuse ODG, Davido, Tiwa Savage, 2Face Idibia, Burna Boy, and more, as well as frequent collaborators Efya, Mugees and others. His next album, Mary, was named after his grandmother. Sarkodie went into overdrive in 2017, releasing Sarkodie Vol. 1, Sarkodie Vol. 2, and Highest.
Sarkodie released his maiden Extended play (EP) in 2019’s Alpha SZN, which contained six tracks. Black Love, a full-length album, followed before he released No Pressure in 2021. JAMZ (2022) and The Championship (2024) are Sarkodie’s latest offerings, with the latter being a six-track mixtape.
Businesses
Sarkodie founded his own record label, Sarkcess Music, in 2014. He also has his own Sark Collection clothing line.
Controversies
Sarkodie had a massive feud with fellow Ghanaian rapper M.anifest in 2016, captivating the entire country. The beef spawned singles such as ‘Bossy’, ‘GodMC’, and ‘Kanta’. Opinion is divided on who won the beef, with social media generally siding with M.anifest over Sarkodie, despite the latter’s much larger fanbase. Another artist he had a beef with was Shatta Wale, who inexplicably started attacking Sarkodie publicly in 2018, prompting him to fire back in a single titled ‘My Advice’.
Actress Yvonne Nelson sparked a massive controversy with Sarkodie when she revealed in her memoir, ‘I Am Not Yvonne Nelson’ (2023), that she got pregnant for Sarkodie before either found fame and that he pressured her to have an abortion then failed to turn up to support her. An angry Sarkodie fired back at her in a diss track titled ‘Try Me’, in which he accused her of being promiscuous and twisting the facts surrounding what happened.
Family
Sarkodie married Tracy, popularly known as Tracy Sarkcess, in Tema, where they both grew up, in 2018. They have two children, Adalyn Owusu Addo and Michael Nana Yaw Owusu Addo Junior.
Awards
Sarkodie has won over 120 awards in his career. He is the most awarded Ghanaian artist in the history of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA), with 30 wins. Sarkodie is also tied with Stonebwoy as the only two-time winners of the awards’ Artist of the Year Category (he won in 2010 and 2012), which is considered the highest honour in all of Ghanaian music.
Additionally, Sarkodie has won 20 4Syte Music Video awards, 14 3Music Awards, is a three-time winner at Nigeria’s Headies, a two-time winner at the BET Awards and a one-time winner at the BET Hip Hop Awards, among many others.
Aside from his awards, Sarkodie usually ranks very high on the list of best Ghanaian rappers of all time. In 2024, Ghana’s largest newspaper, the Daily Graphic, named him the greatest Ghanaian rapper of all time.
