Kae Sun is the stage name of Kwaku Darko-Mensah Jnr, a Ghanaian-born Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and artist.

Early life

Kwaku was born in Accra, his parents had resettled in Ghana after being based in Germany for several years. He immigrated to Canada to study

Columbia International College Columbia International College is a private boarding preparatory school in the Ainslie Wood neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As of 2014, the school has students from over 70 countries. Columbia is a member of the Independent School A ...

and later attended

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

graduating with a degree in Multimedia and Philosophy. In Accra he attended Achimota School where he first started writing and performing music.

Career

While attending university, Kwaku started using the stage name Kae Sun, performing at local clubs and making demo recordings. He also started playing guitar and experimenting with different styles and sounds. He first gained some recognition when he was awarded a local music prize. Kae Sun recorded and released his debut '' Lion on a Leash'' in 2009 largely funded by a grant from the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

. He soon after re-located to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. ''Lion On A Leash'' was well received among critics, garnering further recognition for Kae Sun. Kwaku followed up his debut with the EP ''Outside The Barcode'', a folky, pared-down collection of songs inspired by his return to Ghana after years of living in Canada. The song Firefly Dance from this collection was a

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...

Top Tune of the day.

2013 - 2015: ''Afriyie''

Kae Sun's second LP '' Afriyie'' was released in May 2013 and was co-produced by Kae Sun and production duo Science! (Joshua Sadlier-Brown and Marc Koecher). The record received favourable reviews from publications like

exclaim ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

and Afropunk. An MTV Iggy profile of the record said, " With ''Afriyie'', Kae Sun has managed to emerge as one of the most promising singer-songwriters in the international scene." The tour for ''Afriyie'' included a set at the inaugural CBC music festival, support for the Toronto stop of

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

's Electric Lady Tour and solo engagements in Germany. The song "Heart Healing Pulse" from ''Afriyie'' was included in the Strumbo Hundo 2013, television personality George Stroumboulopoulos's list of the top songs of that year. The Roots affiliated site OkayAfrica also lauded ''Afriyie'' as one of the best releases of 2013. In April 2014, Kae Sun made his U.S debut at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, as part of the theatre's Africa Now Festival. "Ship and The Globe", the lead single from ''Afriyie'' is featured in several episodes of ''

It's Okay, That's Love ''It's Okay, That's Love'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Jo In-sung, Gong Hyo-jin, Sung Dong-il, Lee Kwang-soo, and Do Kyung-soo. It aired on SBS from July 23 to September 11, 2014, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:5 ...

''. The song debuted at number 3 on the South Korea Gaon International Chart Kae Sun has released a collaborative multimedia project featuring a short film and installation with art director Emeka Alams and German filmmaker Simon Rittmeier. The project included a 4-song E.P. released digitally

2018 - Present : Whoever Comes Knocking

Kae Sun released his third LP Whoever Comes Knocking on March 2, 2018. The LP features the singles Stalk and Treehouse.

Discography

EPs

LPs

Compilation albums

Singles

* "Lion on a Leash" (iTunes) – 2009 * "Ship and the Globe" (iTunes) – 2012 * "When the Pot" (iTunes) - 2013 * "Canary" (iTunes) - 2016 * "Flip The Rules" (iTunes) - 2017 * "Stalk" (digital) - 2017 * "Treehouse" (digital) - 2018 * "Bright Lights" (digital) - 2021

Bibliography

Flood Season (Flipped Eye, 2021) ISBN 9781905233762

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kae Sun Living people 21st-century Black Canadian male singers Ghanaian emigrants to Canada Ghanaian male singers Musicians from Accra Alumni of Achimota School Canadian world music musicians Canadian indie pop musicians Alternative rock singers Canadian experimental musicians Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)