Sarkodie

Sarkodie is a Ghanaian rapper, songwriter and entrepreneur from Tema. He was born Michael Owusu Addo on 10 July 1985, the fourth of five children, and was raised in Koforidua before the family moved to Tema.

His mother is from Cape Coast. He attended Tema Methodist Day Senior High School and studied graphic design at IPMC. He came up as an underground rapper through Adom FM’s Kasahare Level competition, and raps mostly in Twi.

His debut album Makye arrived in 2009 through Duncwills Entertainment, with production largely handled by Jayso. He is one of the main names behind the spread of Azonto. He founded his own label, Sarkcess Music, in 2014 and signed Akwaboah in 2016. Sarkology followed in 2014 and Black Love in 2019.

He won Best International Act: Africa at the 2012 BET Awards, took Artiste of the Decade at the 2019 Ghana Music Awards, and in October 2019 became the first winner of Best International Flow at the BET Hip Hop Awards.

In 2023 he became the first Ghanaian artist to pass a million YouTube subscribers. He runs the annual Rapperholic concert, which now stages editions in the UK. He released several singles in 2026, among them Odo Pa and Wins & Losses. He married Tracy in a private ceremony in Tema on 17 July 2018. They have two children, Adalyn and Michael Nana Yaw Owusu Addo Jnr.