Struggles in school, 3 months of depression: The story of ‘1st Sermon’ hitmaker Black Sherif

• Black Sherif's constant failure in some elective courses became a nightmare

• He had to quit Elective Mathematics for French because he was not excelling

• When his 'Money' single became popular, he rather suffered depression

Before ascending the throne of fame with his ‘1st Sermon’, Mohammed Ismail Sherif was a student of Kumasi Academy (KUMACA) between 2016 and 2019. He had been offered a General Arts course with Elective Mathematics and Economics as part of the subjects he was required to study but these two subjects were a torment for him.

“I always failed in Elective Maths and Economics. I even had to ditch Elective Maths for French,” he said on GhanaWeb TV’s Blogger’s Forum. “At a point in time, I felt like school won’t work for me so I had to choose plan B. I knew I could sing but I didn’t know I could write.”

While in his second year, he performed during events and entertained colleagues with his craft. “It went crazy”, he said, adding that he was a dancer and a rapper.

Black Sherif’s desire to record songs was birthed after he completed school but that journey came with its own challenges, including being depressed for three months. This was not as a result of no sign of recognition; rather, his inability to manage an unexpected success he chalked with a record he had just released.

“I dropped a song titled ‘Money’. It went viral but I didn’t know how I could manage it because I was new to the game,” he told host Abrantepa. “I didn’t expect that song to go viral the way it did. I wanted to do music, I release a song and it goes viral… I didn’t know how to follow it. That got me depressed for three months.”

Drawing inspiration from his Maker, Black Sherif recovered and subsequently released other songs including ‘1st Sermon’ which has become a monster hit. He mentioned that the lyrics of his songs are based on his experiences and the realities of life.

The youngster is currently studying Marketing at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

Watch the conversation with Black Sherif from the 24th minute of the video below.