Dorcas Opoku Dakwa (born 3 December 1980), known professionally as Abrewa Nana, is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

singer, songwriter, dancer and former ''Idol'' series judge.

Early life and education

Nana's parents are Isaac Dakwa and Juliana Blankson. The name "Abrewa" literally means "old woman" in the

Akan language Akan () is a Central Tano language and the principal native language of the Akan people of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population can speak Akan, and about 44% of Ghanaians are native speakers. I ...

, her mother tongue. She adopted this as her stage name partly because she had been named after her grandmother. Raised mostly by her single mother, Nana attended primary school in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

and Aggrey Memorial Senior High School, before studying Business Accounting at the

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indus ...

Polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

.Idol Girl Storms Back
As a teenager, she idolized

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

and

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

, but was introduced to

hiplife Hiplife is a Ghanaian musical style that fuses Ghanaian culture and hip hop. Recorded predominantly in the Ghanaian Akan language, hiplife is rapidly gaining popularity in the 2010s throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United K ...

– a combination of hip hop and African

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (British colony), history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions ...

– as a student in polytechnic, and began to compose her own lyrics.Abrewa Nana II
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Musical career

Following the recording of her demo, Nana became a favorite among radio DJs, and her collaboration with Sass Squad ''Tuma'' received huge airplay. However, it was her first album '' Sagoa'', in 2000, that launched her to national fame. She earned three nominations at the Ghana Music Awards for Female Artiste of the Year, Rap Song of the Year, and New Artiste of the Year. In 2001, Nana won an award for hiplife Song of the Year and was named Best Female Vocalist in 2002. That same year, Nana released her second album ''African Girl'', and was named Best Female Artiste of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards UK the following year. Her third album ''Maba'' followed in 2004. Nana is also a dancer and famous for her heavily choreographed videos. Nana has shared a stage with artists such as

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

, 2Face and

Tony Tetuila Anthony Olanrewaju Awotoye, better known as Tony Tetuila, also regard as the golden father of Afrobeats artist from Nigeria. His name, Olanrewaju, means "My wealth is increasing". He was a member of the now-defunct hip-hop group of The Remedie ...

Nana has since used her position to criticize local DJs who favor foreign artists over African performers, and has spoken of the difficulty Ghanaians face when breaking into the music industry, including

payola Payola, in the music industry, is the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment. Under US law, a radio station must disclose songs they were paid to play on the air as spons ...

.Nana to return

Idols West Africa

In 2007, it was announced that Nana would be a judge on ''

Idols West Africa ''Idols West Africa'' is the West African version of the Idol series franchise. Based in Nigeria, it is a talent contest to find a recording artiste, and aired on M-Net in 2007. Like the Pan-Arab entry to the series, the show incorporated countri ...

'', alongside the Nigerian

Dede Mabiaku DeDe, De De, Dedé or Dédé may refer to: People Nickname or stage name * Dedé (Angolan footballer), born Adérito Waldemar Alves Carvalho * Dedé (footballer, born 1978), Brazilian footballer born Leonardo de Deus Santos * Dedé (footballer, bo ...

and the American Dan Foster; at twenty-seven, she was one of the youngest judges in ''Idols history. She advised contestants during the event to remember "to have a style of their own". Nana also said contestants to "remember it is a competition, and you can win or lose but whether you winner or not, follow your dream".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nana, Abrewa Living people 1982 births