Derrick Sarfo Kantanka, (born 14 February 1995), best known as Amerado, is a Ghanaian rapper from

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

. He is the curator of Yeete Nsem, Ghana's first news casting rap series.

Early life and education

Derrick Kantanka was born and raised in Ejisu,

, in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...

Ghana 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 the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He attended

KNUST Senior High School The KNUST Senior High School is a co-educational institution in Kumasi, Ghana. The school's nickname, in the Akan language, is ''Mmadwemma'', meaning "people who carefully think before acting". Its motto is "Forward be our watchword". Approximat ...

Music career

After placing third at the Solid FM Freestyle Show in 2015, Amerado caught the attention of music producer, sound engineer and A&R, Azee Ntwene, who signed the rapper to his label MicBurnerz Music. Amerado was featured on a song by

Mix Master Garzy Benjamin Garzy Mensah, professionally known as Mix Master Garzy, is a Ghanaian record producer, sound engineer, disc jockey and singer. His major productions include "Pull Up" by Stonebwoy, "My Baby" by Stay Jay ft. R2Bees, "Boom boom tag" by Mi ...

intended to promote peace around the

2016 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President and Members of Parliament. They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, but the date was later rejected by Parliament. Former foreign minister Nana Akufo-Ad ...

. The following year, Amerado released his first single ''I AM'', which ''Pulse Ghana'' included among their top 10 Ghanaian songs in January 2017. He released his first EP ''Rapmare'' that November. In 2018, Amerado was featured on Sarkodie's hip-hop song "Biibi Ba", which was nominated for the Best Hiphop Song at the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. On 8 August 2019, Ghana disc jockey

DJ Black Ricardo Alexander O’Neil Weeks (born 2 July 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Black or DJ Negro, is a Panamanian recording artist, songwriter, producer and music executive. In 2008 DJ Black wrote the smash hit "Chucha Su Madre" which was ...

released a controversial list of the country's top 50 rappers, on which he placed Amerado in the forties. On 1 October 2020, Reggie Rockstone, an influential figure in Ghanaian music genre hiplife, called Amerado one of the best rappers to ever come from Ghana. In 2020, Amerado joined

Shatta Wale Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr., (born 17 October 1984) is a Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artist. He is known by his stage name Shatta Wale, formerly Bandana. His best-known singles are "Dancehall King", "My level" and "We taking over" .He is also know ...

and other rappers in Kumasi to release ''Ahodwo Las Vegas''. In August 2021, Amerado had a freestyle and interview session with Tim Westwood on

Capital Xtra Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global Media & Entertainment, Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM broadcasting, FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB Digital Ra ...

in London.

GRM Daily GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Briti ...

reported his freestyle session as one of the best on the show. Amerado released his second extended play ''Patience'' on 26 October 2021, featuring

Black Sherif Mohammed Ismail Sherif Kwaku Frimpong (born 9 January 2002) professionally known as Black Sherif, is a Ghanaian singer and rapper. He gained popularity in 2021 with his song "First Sermon" in May 2021. This was followed up with "Second Sermon" ...

, Fameye, YPee and Kweku Flick, with production from Azee Ntwene, Izjoe Beatz, Samsney and ItzCJ Madeit. The EP peaked at 1 on music streaming platforms Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay and YouTube. The EP was adjourned the BEST EP at the 2022

3Music Awards The 3 Music Award is Ghanaian music awards ceremony held annually since 2018 to celebrate Ghanaian music. It was established by the 3Music Network with Media General TV3 as broadcasters. The Multimedia group became the media right holder in th ...

. Amerado is the first Kumasi-based artist to win the Rapper of the Year award at the

. In May 2020, Audiomack listed Amerado in Top 10 African Artists to look out for which also featured A-Reece, Nandy, Joey B and others. On 25th October 2022, Amerado released his debut studio album, G.I.N.A, which featured

S1mba Leonard Simbarashe Rwodzi (born 12 April 1999), known professionally as S1mba, is a Zimbabwean-born British singer-songwriter and rapper. He rose to prominence with his single "Rover" featuring DTG, which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Cha ...

, Fameye,

Eno Barony Ruth Eno Adjoa Amankwah Nyame Adom (born 30 October 1991), known professionally by her stage name Eno Barony, is a Ghanaian rapper and songwriter. Born in Tema, Accra, she released her debut single, "Wats Ma Name" and also "Tonga", the remix of ...

, Laioung, Efya, Gidochi, Lasmid and Epixode.

Style

Amerado raps and sings mostly in the Twi dialect of 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 ...

of Ghana, but he sometimes uses English as well. His stage name, Amerado, which means 'Governor' in Akan, was chosen to assert his command of the music scene.

Brand ambassador

Amerado is the brand ambassador for Ghana-made chocolates, an initiative of the

Ghana Cocoa Board The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is a Ghanaian government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana. Farmers are protected from the volatile prices on the world market through the price-fixing. Besides the higher quality ...

. He wrote the song "Ghana Chocolate" to promote the campaign. He has also worked with Vodafone Ghana, AirtelTigo, HD Plus, GoTV
Cheezzy Pizza
and other brands.

Live performances

Amerado's notable live performances include the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, S-Concert, Rapperholic Show, the 2019 Ghana Music Awards UK, VGMA Xperience Concert,

Ghana DJ Awards The Ghana DJ Awards are an annual ceremony to recognize and honor disc jockeys and other individuals who have influenced electronic dance music in Ghana. Its purpose is to foster the development of the Ghana music industry by rewarding and celeb ...

and the Ghana Party in the Park, UK.

Awards and nominations

Co-nominee / co-winner

Videography

Discography

Selected singles

* ''I Am'' * ''At My Back'' * ''Beast Attitude'' *''

– Peace Forever (as a featured act)'' *'' Edem – Kporda Remix (as a featured act)'' * ''Redemption I'' * ''Redemption II'' * ''Menpe'' *''Pistol

Cabum Cabum, born Frank Kwame Gyasi- Frimpong on 15 June 1985, to Ghanaian highlife musician Alhaji Kwame Frimpong (popularly known as Alhaji K. Frimpong) and Joyce Asabia Frimpong, is a Ghanaian rapper from Kumasi. Career After two years of work ...

'' *''Gods ft Kuami Eugene &

Koo Ntakra Isaac Akuffo (born 21 February 1992), who goes by the stage name Koo Ntakra, is a hiplife and hip hop artist from Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of ...

'' *'' Sarkodie – Biibi Ba (as a featured act)'' *''Twa So ft Fameye'' *''Box of Memories'' *''Kyer3 Me ft Okyeame Kwame'' *''

– Ahodwo Las Vegas (as a featured act)'' *''Best Rapper'' *''Dawgi ft. Sarkodie'' *''Indelible Flow'' *''Taxi Driver'' *''Me Ho Y3'' *''Younger K.A'' *''Death Sentence'' *''We Outside ft

Kofi Jamar Derrick Osei Kuffour Prempeh popularly called Kofi Jamar is a Ghanaian musician from Kumasi. He is best known for his hit song ''Ekorso'' which evolved from the viral Kumerica/Asaaka trend and features Yaw Tog and YPee. In 2021, he was in nominat ...

'' *''The Throne'' *''Metua ft Kuami Eugene'' *''

- The Finish Line (as a featured act)'' *''Obiaa Boa'' *''Back to Sender'' *''Grace ft Lasmid''

Extended Plays

* ''Rapmare'' EP *''Patience'' EP

Albums

* '' G.I.N.A'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amerado Living people Ghanaian rappers 1995 births People from Kumasi Ghanaian musicians