Michael Owusu Addo, better known by his stage name Sarkodie, is a hip hop recording artist and businessman from Tema, Ghana. He was born on July 10, 1985. He won the Best International Act: Africa category at the 2012 BET Awards, and he was nominated for the same prize at the 2014 BET Awards. Sarkodie was recognized as the 19th most important Ghanaian by e.tv Ghana in 2015.

He is considered as one of the genre’s and dance’s most significant advocates. One of Africa’s most significant hip-hop artists is Sarkodie. He was ranked sixth on MTV Base’s list of the “Hottest African MCs” in 2014. On Lynx TV’s list of the “Top 10 Ghanaian Rappers of All Time” in 2013, he received the most votes. In 2015, he was ranked third among the “Top 10 African Rappers of 2015” by AfricaRanking.com. In 2015, The Guardian ranked him as one of the top five African hip-hop acts.

Sarkodie, the fourth of his mother Maame Aggrey’s five children, was born and raised in Tema, Ghana. Sarkodie started rapping while he was young and kept doing it while he was in school. His alma mater was Tema Methodist Senior High School. He received a graphic design degree from IPMC. Sarkodie began his career as an undiscovered rapper in the music business. He participated in the well-known Adom FM rap competition Kasahare Level. Rap bouts are how he first connected with Duncan Williams, his former manager at Duncwills Entertainment.

Additionally, he met musicians Castro and Edem, who introduced him to renowned record producer Hammer of The Last Two. Hammer decided to feature Sarkodie on two tracks from the Volta Regime album after listening to his rap flows. After this exposure, Sarkodie recorded his debut album, Makye. Sarkodie became a well-known name in Ghanaian music with the success of his debut track, “Baby,” which featured Mugeez of the R2Bees. Sarkodie beat out rappers from the well-known rap competition Kasahare Level to secure a record deal with JM Entertainment. 2009 saw the release of Makye, his debut album, which featured production from Killbeatz and Jayso as well as cameos from Kwaw Kese, J-Town, Sway, and Paedae of the R2Bees.

Both music critics and fans praised the record. A concert was held at Accra’s Holy City Gardens after its unveiling at the Accra Mall. On Joy Fm’s list of the top 50 songs of 2009, the tracks “Push” and “Baby” by Sarkodie were ranked ninth and thirteenth, respectively. The primary songs from Sarkodie’s Rapperholic album, including “Goodbye,” “One Time For Your Mind,” “You Go Kill Me,” “Living Legend,” and “Onyame Nhyira,” were made available in 2011. EL’s song “You Go Kill Me,” which includes, received a warm reception in Ghana. Sulley Muntari, Castro, Deborah Owusu-Bonsu, X.O Senovoe, DJ Mensah, and Funny Face all had brief appearances in the video. In 2012, Sarkodie released the album Rapperholic, to rave reviews from critics.

On the album, cameo appearances are made by Efya, Chidynma, Mugeez of R2Bees, Obrafour, Jayso, EL, and others. Sarkodie started a tour across the entire state to promote the album. Rapperholic served as the inspiration for Sarkodie’s first BET nomination and subsequent victory. Sarkodie appeared on the BET Hip Hop Awards cypher alongside Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, and Ab-Soul. He was the only African artist on the cypher.

On October 30, 2013, Sarkodie released the official remix to his 2011 smash song “You Go Kill Me,” which topped many Ghanaian charts. Several artists, including Wizkid, Ice Prince, Navio, and EL, contributed to the remix. A concert commemorating the release of the Sarkology album on January 2, 2014, took place on December 21, 2013. The event was held in Accra Sports Stadium. The album has cameos by a number of artists, including Fuse ODG, AKA, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, 2 Face Idibia, Joey B, and Efya. After releasing the Sarkology album, Sarkodie released the official remix for “Adonai.” The remix quickly became popular in Africa and was included in the BBC’s Capital Xtra Top 35 Afrobeats Songs list.

Sarkodie established his own record label, Sarkcess Music, in 2014. As part of the premiere, he unveiled the videos for the “Adonai” remix and “Special Someone,” both of which feature Castro and AKA. The label also distributed the tracks “Megye Wo Girl,” “Love Rocks,” “Chingum,” and “Whine Fi Me” by Sarkodie.