Elom Adablah (born 28 June 1989), better known by his stage name E.L, is a Ghanaian

Afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

musician,

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, singer and producer. E.L's singles include "Obuu Mo", "Kaalu", "One Ghana", "Auntie Martha", "Shelele", "Mi Naa Bo Po", "Koko" and "KaaBuAme", "See me Sometime", "Abaa" and "Pay Like a Boss". His debut album was ''Something Else'' (2012). E.L released a mixtape he calls ''The BAR (Best African Rapper)'' and in 2017, he released the fourth one called BAR IV. He won Artiste of the Year and Hip-life/Hip-hop Artiste of the Year at the 2015/2016 Vodafone

Ghana Music Awards The Ghana Music Awards, currently known as the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music awards event in Ghana established in 1999 by a local event organizer and planner company known as CharterHouse to origi ...

Early life

E.L grew up in

Dansoman Dansoman is a suburban town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, located near Accra and Takoradi district of the Accra Metropolitan Area. The town is known for being one of the largest estates in West Africa. History The town was founded by th ...

, a suburb of

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, , ...

. He first attended St. Martin De Porres School in Dansoman and later transferred to Jack and Jill where he completed his Junior Secondary School level. He then gained admission into Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC), where he discovered music. After high school, he pursued a degree in economics and political science at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

, Legon.

Music career

2008: Music beginnings

During his first year in the university, EL signed to Jayso's Skillions Records and helped Jayso co-produce the ''Skillionaires Demotape.'' However, after graduating from university, the Skillions broke up and EL became a solo artist. He acquired a studio in Asylum Down and began working on a new mixtape. He went as far as releasing a single, "Chale (So Fli)", with Jay Foley, Wolf and Kwaku T (remix). However, the mixtape was never released. EL relocated to a better studio at Osu, and invested all his available funds in acquiring equipment.

2009–2012: ''Something Else''

EL got signed to BBnZ live His debut double album, ''Something Else'', was released on 1 June 2012 by

Akwaaba Music Akwaaba Music is a label and agency based in Accra, Ghana. The label distributes some of Ghana's biggest artists, including Joey B, EL, D-Black, Ruff N Smooth, Edem, DJ Breezy, as well as successful independent artists such as the FOKN Bois, Ar ...

, and is a blend of different varieties of music inspired from various sources.

2014: ''B.A.R Mix Tape''

EL released ''The Best African Rapper'' album, shortened as The B.A.R on 20 May 2014. It featured

Ayigbe Edem Denning Edem Hotor is a Ghanaian people, Ghanaian recording artist and entertainer who performs under the name Edem. In 2015, he was awarded Best International Act-Africa at the Black Canadian Awards in Canada. Early life Edem hails from Dzogadz ...

, Sarkodie,

Joey B Darryl Paa Kwesi Bannerman-Martin (born 20 August 1989), known under the stage name Joey B, is a Ghanaian hip hop recording artist. He is well known for his single "Tonga". Early life and career Joey B was born in Cape Coast, Ghana. He realized ...

C-Real C-REAL () was a five-member South Korean girl group formed by NAP Entertainment in 2011. They debuted with their song ''No No No No No'' on October 12, 2011. Their group name was taken from the first letter of each member's name. They are dubbed ...

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

, Telvin, Frozen, Lil Shaker, Stargo, P. K. and Dex Kwasi.

2015: ''B.A.R 2''

EL announced he was working on ''B.A.R 2,'' releasing the cover art and later releasing three songs "All Black", "State of the Nation" and "King Without A Crown". On 29 August 2015, he followed up with the B.A.R 2 concert featuring Wanlov,

Ko-Jo Cue Linford Kennedy Amankwaa (born 27 May 1989), better known by his stage name Ko-Jo Cue, is a Ghanaian Hip-Hop/ Afro-Pop artiste from Kumasi, Ashanti Region. He is currently signed to BBnZ Live and is affiliated to The Cue, a talent development ...

DJ Mic Smith Micheal Owusu known as DJ Mic Smith is an event, club, radio, mixtape and artist DJ and also an entrepreneur from the republic of Ghana. He also currently holds 4 awards and 6 nominations; 2 awards with 4syte TV for DJ of the year, The Redbull ...

and more.

2016: ''Elom''

EL released his second studio album entitled ''Elom'' (Everybody loves original music). The album included singles "Mi Naa Bo Po", "Watch The Way You Dey Waka" and "Nkrumah Pt. 2" featuring

Obrafour Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko popularly known as Obrafour, other names include Rap Executioner and Rap Sofo (born 1976) is a Ghanaian hiplife musician and rapper. Obrafour has a unique style of Twi rapping and storytelling. His popular and ...

. On 15 April 2016

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

headlined a concert dubbed Ms. Lauryn Hill Presents Diaspora Calling! in association with Tidal at Kings Theater, the concert was intended to celebrate the rich tapestry of artists from African Diaspora and included E.L and

Stonebwoy Livingstone Etse Satekla (born 5 March 1988), better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian Afropop, dancehall and reggae musician. He is the CEO of Burniton Music Group. He won the Best International Act: Africa category at the 201 ...

from Ghana, also Wondaboy and Mr. Eazi from Nigeria.

2017: ''B.A.R 4''

The success of the previous installment of the BAR franchise saw the birth of another mixtape. This featured both establishment rappers and also included rising rappers as

Teephlow Lukeman Ekow Baidoo (born 20 June 1991), who performs under the stage name Teephlow, is a Ghanaian award-winning hip hop recording artist. He was first noted at the maiden edition of the 2012 "Next Big Thing in GH Hip Hop" Talent Hunt Show. He r ...

, Kojo-Cue,

Medikal Samuel Adu Frimpong (born 4 April 1994), popularly known as Medikal, is a Ghanaian hip hop musician born to Portia Lamptey and James Frimpong in Sowutuom, a suburb of Accra. Early life and music career He comes from Sowutuom, a suburb in Accra ...

. one notable track on the album is ''Nina'', which is storyline song about a psychopathic groupie. Other hard core raps songs as ''Change'', ''Superstar'' and ''Lalafalama'' were also lauded; as was ''Bars''.

2018: ''BAR V''

E.L released his fifth studio album titled BAR V (stylised as BVR), a 15 track album. It included rap singles like "Nobody", The Greatest and "Thinkin'." E.L featured Nigerian artiste, Falz, and Ghanaian acts

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano languages, a language group w ...

and Bryan The Mensah.

2019: ''The Linkop - EL & AI''

This was a joint album with another Ghanaian musician, Ayisi - AI. This will be the first time EL released a joint album. Nonetheless, it will mark the second notable joint album from Ghana as

Sarkodie (rapper) Michael Owusu Addo (born July 10, 1988) known professionally as Sarkodie (), is a Ghanaian rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur from Tema. His contributions to the Ghanaian music industry have earned him numerous accolades, including the Vodafo ...

and

Jayso Paul "Jayso" Nuamah Donkor (born June 1, 1983) is a Ghanaian rapper, record producer, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. After 10 years in the music industry as a rapper and producer, Jayso gained more attention following his work on Sarkodie' ...

had same with ''TMG'' collaboration. The ''Linkop'' album came to bear after the excellent chemistry generated in their collaboration on the ''Adwuma'' song. This album has seven track ranging from Afrobeats to Dancehall to Reggae fusion. One track that seems to appeal to masses is the ''For 2'' song.

2020: ''Songs For Girls 3 EP''

This featured seven songs of different genres. The award-winning rapper took New decade in a whole different mode.

2020: ''Leaks1''

The beginning of a new decade saw EL drop a series of projects – few singles and two different tapes. First of which was the ''Leaks1''. This featured talented rappers even as they were not well known. One of such rappers is '' Yung Pabi'' whom he featured on the song titled ''Respect''. This album had three songs.

2020: ''Leaks2''

Just as the previous tape before this, it had three tracks. Interesting tracks as they are, some industry pundits/critics labelled as masterpieces. Most prominent track was Track 3 - ''J.J. Rawlings'' which featured friend and frequent collaborator Gemini Orleans.

Notable productions

EL has produced songs for many hip hop,

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 ...

and R&B performers, such as: * Sarkodie ("You Go Kill Me", "Dangerous") in collaboration with krynk man *

Keche Keche ( often called The Skill Team) is a Ghanaian musical hip-life duo formed in 2004 consisting of Joshua Kojo Ampah and Andrew Kofi Cudjoe. Keche means "skills" in the Akan language. The duo rose to fame with their debut album Pressure (2008 ...

("Sokode") in collaboration with krynk man *

D-Black Desmond Kwesi Blackmore (born January 12, 1987), known by his stage name D-Black, is an anglophone hip-hop and Afrobeat musician and entrepreneur from Ghana. He has been described as "a successful entertainment mogul" Early life Born Desmond K ...

("Get On the Dancefloor") *

ft D Cryme("Change your life") *Donaeo Ft E.L ("Life Saver") *T Blaze ("Aso wo ha") *C-Real ft E.L ("Weytin De Happen") (sexy mama) *C-Real ft E.L ("Do the Azonto") *Lighter ft Promzy of VIP and E.L ("Fear of my Life") *

Scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

ft Sarkodie and E.L ("I Like You Girl") * J Town ft D Cyrme and E.L ("Party Alhaji") *Sala ft E.L ("Only You") *

Samini Emmanuel Andrews Sammini (born 22 December 1981 in Accra, Ghana), known by his stage name Samini (formerly as Batman Samini), is a Ghanaian Reggae and Dance hall recording artiste from Wa, Ghana. His genre of music is a melodious mixture of h ...

("Too Bad") *

Edem Edem, occasionally referred to by the misnomer "Edem Ani" (in contradistinction from Edem Nru and Edem Iheakpu Awka) is an ancient traditional state in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. A culturally rich, stable traditional ...

("Wey tin") *

Efya Jane Awindor (born April 10, 1987), better known by her stage name Efya, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter, and actress from Kumasi. She is the daughter of Nana Adwoa Awindor, a filmmaker and celebrity host of the late television show ''Greetings ...

ft E.L ("Heartbeat") *

ft Mugeez ("Ooh Ooh Ooh") *

Reggie Rockstone Reggie Rockstone (Reginald Yaw Asante Ossei, "the Godfather of Hiplife") is a Ghanaian rapper. He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Kumasi and Accra. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip- ...

("Rockstone's Office"),

Asem Asem (also spelled Aasem, Assem, Asim ar, عاصم ') is a male given name of Arabic origin, which means "savior, protector, guardian, defender." Asem is also a female given name of Kazakh origin, which means "beauty, beautiful, refined, gracefu ...

("Check Your Weight"), Geelex ("Bend Your Body") and many more. *

ft E.L ("Wow"). * E.L Ft.

DopeNation DopeNation is a Ghanaian musical duo of identical twin brothers, composed of Micheal Boafo popularly known as B2, and Tony Boafo known as Twist. They are best known for producing hit songs such as Kpuu Kpaa by Shatta wale, Wow by Joey B ft EL, Se ...

– Ayeyi (Prod. By PeeOnTheBeatz) * E.L – Vim Yaazo (Prod. by E.L) * E.L – Joy (Prod. by Kuzie x E.L)

Discography

; Studio Albums * ''Something Else'' (2012) * ''ELOM'' (2016) * ''B.A.R. 3'': The Lomi Era (2016) * ''B.A.R 4'' (2017) * ''BVR'' (2018) ; Mixtapes * ''Project Hip Hop'' (with

) (2011) * ''Songs for Girls-the Valentines Day Mixtape'' (2012) * ''The B.A.R.'' (2014) * ''Project Hip Hop 2 (with

) (2015)'' * ''B.A.R. 2'' (2015) *''B.A.R. 3'' (2016) *''Songs for Girls Vol. 1'' *''Songs for Girls Vol. 2'' ; Others *''Another Rainy Day'' *''Empty Barrels'' *''Find A Way'' *''Getting it Fast'' *''Move On'' *''My Addiction'' *''Pick up'' *''Don Dada'' ft yigbe Edemand Telvin

Singles

*One Ghana- August 2011 *Obuu Mo- September 2011 *Ma Me Wassop- December 2011 *Turn the Lights Down- December 2011 *Lifesaver ft Donaeo- January 2012 *The Botos Song ft (N-Dex & J-Town)- February 2012 *Nigg*s in Accra (Azonto RMX) ft C-Real & Stargo- April 2012 *The ChO.sen ft (Manifest, D-Black & Sarkodie)- October 2012 *Hallelujah ft (M.anifest)- December 2012 *No Size- December 2013 *See Me Suffer ft (Shaker)- October 2013 *Ayayaa- March 2014 *My Friend- April 2014 *Boorle- September 2014 *Sister Araba- December 2014 *Agbadza- December 2014 *State of the Nation Address- March 2015 *Shelele- March 2015 *Egbefia- April 2015 *Mi Naa Bo Po- August 2015 *Koko- November 2015 *Pour Put Inside- December 2015 *Fire Cant Cool- May 2016 *Portray Dey Be- December 2015 *Kaa Bu Ame- June 2016 *Lalafalama- September 2016 *Fefeefe- November 2017 *Agbo- February 2017 *Eliens Anthem- March 2017 *Explain-March 2017 *Pay like a Boss-September 2017 *Overdose-October 2017 *Joy-February 2018 *Wosa ft Joey B-June 2018 (Produced by

Pee GH Emmanuel K. Bartels known professionally as Pee GH or Pee On Da Beat, is a New Jersey-based Ghanaian record producer. He is best known for producing hit songs such as E.L's "Koko", "Abaa", "Agbo", "Overdose", "Higher"; Shatta Wale - "Am Ok", " ...

) *FWY-May 2018 *Efa Wo Ho Ben-December-2-2019 *Baba Dey 2021

Videography

Awards and nominations

*2010

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

:Best Original Soundtrack 'A sting in a tale' *2010

Ghana Movie Awards ''Ghana Movie Awards'' is an annual film award to recognise excellence in the Ghanaian film industry. The first edition was held on 25 December 2010 at the Accra International Conference Center. It’s only in 2017 that the ceremony wasn’t held ...

: Best Score Award, Checkmate And more *2011 Ghana Music Awards: Hip-hop Song of the Year award, "Get On the Dance Floor", Producer *2012/2013 Ghana Music Awards Album of the Year *2015/2016 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Hip-life/Hip-hop Artiste of the year *2015/2016 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year *2016 Ghana Music Awards ''UK'' Artiste of the Year *2015/2016 Ghana Music Awards Producer Of the Year *2015/2016 Ghana Music Awards Afro pop song Of the Year *2016/2017 Ghana Music Awards Afro Pop Song Of The Year (Kaa Bu Ame) *2017

Ghana Entertainment Awards - USA 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 ...

Best Album (BAR 3) *2017 4SYTE MVA BEST EDITED VIDEO

Video awards

*2013 MTN 4Syte TV Music Video Awards: Best Photography *2014 MTN 4Syte TV Music Video Awards: Best Storyline *2015 MTN 4Syte TV Music Video Awards: Best Edited Video and Best special effect *2015/2016 Vodafone

Music Video of the Year(Shelele)

Nominations

*2012 Ghana Music Awards: Best New Artist, Best Rapper, Best Collaboration ("You Go Kill Me" with Sarkodie) *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Channel O Music Video Awards Channel O Africa Music Video Awards, once known as Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, are Pan-African music awards organised by South Africa -based Channel O television channel. The awards were first held in 2003 under the name Reel Music Video A ...

: Best Newcomer ("Turn The Lights Down") *

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

2016 – Listener's Choice

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:EL 1983 births Living people 21st-century Ghanaian musicians Musicians from Accra Ghanaian Afrobeat musicians Ghanaian record producers Ghanaian rappers Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School alumni University of Ghana alumni