Entertainment of Saturday, 24 September 2022
Source: John Claude Tamakloe
2022-09-24Sarkodie deserves a celebration for his contribution to Hip hop/Rap culture, the first 'BET Int'l Flow Act' - StarZee urges
Vic Mensa with Sarkodie (left)
The industry has to celebrate Sarkodie because most Ghanaian rappers are now becoming full-time singers because of afrobeat. You'll bear me witness most Ghanaian rappers are becoming lazy.
If you don't completely understand hip-hop and
Read full article.rap music you won't understand and appreciate exactly what it means for Sarkodie to be the first Ghanaian artist to win 'Best International Flow' at BET Hip-hop Awards and put Ghana on the map for that effect. And this year marks exactly a decade since Rapperholic Concert became a household name.
The icing on the cake was when BET's verified Facebook page shared the footage of him when he won the award with the caption “Sarkodie is proof that African artists are bringing the ???? when he took home the Best International Flow Award at the 2019 #HipHopAwards! #BET #SlaySunday”. That caption speaks volumes.
It’s sad when people tag Sarkodie as an egomaniac, stingy and bossy because they fail to see his artistry, talent, and showmanship. The man has been able to stay relevant for over a decade and counting. It’s that voluminous enough to give him his flowers whiles he’s still doing what he is best known for? Unfortunately, such people mostly miss the masterclass of Sarkodie's sweet science. As a matter of fact, even though he sometimes switches to singing, he is the most feared rapper and hip-hop act on the continent of Africa.
The conversation about Sarkodie's deserving celebration came up after he surprised business mogul Starzee on his wedding day. It was a feast to the eyes of many including myself because the brand Sarkodie as we all know doesn't just pull up on such occasion and talk less of performing for close to 30 minutes. After the wedding, I had the pleasure to have chit-chatting with the real estate businessman (Starzee). I asked him what it meant to him for 'The Most Decorated African Rapper' to grace his occasion in the manner he did.
According to Starzee, Sark is one of the humblest, most generous, kindhearted, and respectful people he has ever met in his life. Whereby he genuinely loves his vibe from the very first day he heard of his first freestyle on the radio and has been in dominance for a very long time. Starzee believes that Sark will forever reign because he has stayed loyal to the hip-hop and rap culture and his team from day one without bragging about achievements in life. StarZee happily congratulated AngelTown and the entire Sarkcess team for being a strong pillar behind his brand.
He also thinks the milestone Sarkodie has achieved nationally and globally should awaken other rappers to step up their game instead of the pull him down mentality. He also expressed gratitude to the 'Adonai' hitmaker for his priceless love, support, and most significantly gracing one of the most memorable moments in his life. He mentioned 'Vibration' as his all-time favorite from Sarkodie and Vic Mensah, a DefJam and RocNation signed artist.
Adding that as a Godfather in Hip-hop, his wildest dream is to see Sark, Jay Z or Ye on one song. As a native of Tema, he's also looking forward to seeing a collaboration from Sarkodie, Yaa Pono, and Criss Waddle in the bid to save 'Hip-hop in Ghana'. And as a person who frowns on beefing, he advised upcoming rappers to channel their energy into collaborating with each other instead of beefing or competing with each other.
As a lover of hip-hop and rap, the business mogul's main focus is to save hip-hop in Ghana and sound a wake-up call to every rapper to take hip-hop seriously as how YaaPono and Sarkodie have done for a decade. He believes Ghana has the potential. Let’s not forget UK-based Ghanaian rapper Sway Dasafo defeated two music heavyweights 50 Cent and Game with the same genre that helped Sarkodie cement the feat he has attained on the local and international levels over the years.
Sarkodie won the “Best Collaboration of the Year” award with the video of his song “Lay Away” which featured Sway from the UK at the Sound City Music Video Awards 2010 in Nigeria. All these recognitions and more warrant his celebration per Starzee's assertion.
Wrapping up, he acknowledged the likes of Yaa Pono for keeping it real with the hip-hop and rap culture and believes he will be the next artist to win another BET award for our motherland.
