Rapper Sarkodie was featured on the latest Hennessy Cypher.
Staying on brand, bragging about how by hard work he rose from grass to grace, he shared his thoughts on the recent love affair between African musicians and Western music companies.
While he recognised international record companies have helped achieve worldwide acceptance for contemporary African music, he also lamented the cons of signing a record deal, even comparing it to being a fraud victim, and arguing its bureaucracy frustrates collaborations.
The 2024 Hennessy Cypher was staged at a mass rapid transit or metro station, dubbed Hennessy Station, with guests – in order – Young Lunya (Tanzania), Maglera Doe Boy (South Africa), Didi B (Ivory Coast), Sarkodie (Ghana), Ladipoe (Nigeria), and Khaligraph Jones (Kenya), demonstrating their Hiphop powers on the metro vehicle.
Entering the metro from a Hennessy bar, the most decorated African rapper in history, a two-time BET winner, and a two-time Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year, Michael Owusu Addo, alias Sarkodie, spat his verse and handed the baton to his great admirer Lapidoe.
Check out the independent artiste's much-touted verse below (translated into English):
"Yah,
"Came from the trenches, my dream was to make it
"I smelled money miles away, and I wished I could taste it
"God gathered all my blessings and told me to take it
"Now, all these pretty women want to see me naked
"Smoking on the boat like I'm Al Pacino
"You can try the things we do but you don't know what we know
"I'm not a racist I love Jamaicans and Filipinos
"I went from rocking broni w'awu [thrift clothing] now to Valentino
"I did this thing myself, I never messed with majors
"They gave me documents, it's like a 1000 pages
"I want my freedom 'cause most of my homies are locked in cages
"It's been a decade, I'm rapping, I'm like the rock of ages
"I taught you how to do this thing the right way
"They smile with you but are robbing you in broad day[light]
"I'm only human I only do what the Lord say[s]
"You know, this is getting crazy
"It's kind of strange how this music has changed from how it was
"I need a verse from my bro, a couple calls
"But now I need to speak to some dude 'cause he's the boss
"Split the publishing before we hit the stores,
"I don't mind but I know what that thing can cost
"I can't hate 'cause it's working, I see results
"African music was buzzing but couldn't cross
"As soon as we signed the paper work, labels opened the doors
"Oh, now I see how y'all really move
"'Cause that be the same thing that fraud people do
"Throw a couple [of] dollars [they've] got you caged in a zoo
"By the time you need your streaming, peekaboo
"See the way we are approaching it
"You hide under the carpet like 'roaches
"The moment African rap chokes call on me to strike it with a rod like Moses
"You know, I've taken this rap thing in [heavy] doses
"It's time, give me my roses
"I dig what you people are trying to do but you people keep skipping the process"
Listen to the 2024 Hennessey Cypher featuring Didi B, Khaligraph Jones, Ladipoe, Maglera Doe Boy, Sarkodie and Young Lunya below:
