Dennis Nana Dwamena, better known as KiDi, (born August 18, 1993) 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 ...

high-life Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and weste ...

and

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 ...

singer-songwriter. He is signed to

Lynx Entertainment Lynx Entertainment is a Ghanaian people, Ghanaian record label founded in 2006 by the producer and singer-songwriter Richie Mensah. The label successfully launched the solo careers of the Ghanaian musicians Richie Mensah, Richie, ASEM, Irene Log ...

and is best known for his global hit single Touch It. The remix features American rapper

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

and has received massive streaming across the world.

Early life

KiDi was born Dennis Nana Dwamena on 18 August 1993 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, , ...

, Ghana to Gerald and Beatrice Thompson. He has two younger brothers, Phillip and Elliot. He received his primary school education at St. Anthony's School in Accra and proceeded to

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Non-denominational Christianity, non-denominational Day School, day and Boarding School, boarding Single-sex education, boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was establishe ...

for his Senior High School education. He then went on to the University of Ghana Legon, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and Information Studies.

Music career

Early beginnings and breakthrough

While studying Economics and Information Studies at the University of Ghana, KiDi's love for music led him to perform on various "Moonlight Café" platforms – a production that supports underground artistes and gives them a platform to display their talents. He also recorded covers of popular songs. In 2015, KiDi took a leap of faith by joining the MTN Hitmaker competition. He went on to win the competition and was later signed to Lynx Entertainment. KiDi shot to prominence in 2017 when he released "Say You Love Me" a song he not only composed but also arranged and produced. KiDi established himself as one of the fastest rising stars in Ghana when he released yet another chart-topper titled "Odo" in July 2017, the remix with Nigerian artist

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

and

Mayorkun Adewale Mayowa Emmanuel (born 23 March 1994), known professionally as Mayorkun, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and pianist. He released a cover of Davido's "The Money" single and was discovered by the singer on Twitter. Mayorkun was signed to ...

in December 2017, and Adiepena in April 2018.

Artistry

KiDi has mounted several stages including 2017 Rapperholic Concert, Ghana Music Honors 2017 Edition, December to Remember 2017, S Concert 2017, the 61st Ghana Independence Celebration Show in March 2018 at the Indigo 02 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He has performed on the same stage as many award-winning

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n artists including Sarkodie,

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 ...

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 ...

MzVee ''Vera Hamenoo-Kpeda ''(born 23 June 1992), better known by her stage name MzVee, is a Ghanaian singer, afropop, dancehall and R&B artiste. Her debut solo album features several hit singles including Borkor Borkor (meaning - Slowly), 'Na ...

WizKid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

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 ...

, and

Patoranking Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (born 27 May, 1990), better known by his stage name Patoranking, is a Nigerian reggae-dancehall singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Ijegun-Egba Satellite Town, Patoranking hails from Onicha, Ebonyi State. He starte ...

. KiDi has also produced several tracks for other artists and co-produced with award-winning Ghanaian producer,

Richie Mensah Richie Mensah (born 17 May 1986), better known by his stage name Richie, is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and record producer. After producing records for several artists, Richie set up Lynx Entertainment record label and released his debut albu ...

. He has also written for Ghanaian acts including the award-winning

and

Adina ADINA is a commercial engineering simulation software program that is developed and distributed worldwide by ADINA R & D, Inc. The company was founded in 1986 by Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Bathe, and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, United St ...

and has collaborated with artists such as

Tic tac Tic Tac (stylized as "tic tac") is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1969 and are now available in a variety of flavours in over 100 countries. Tic Tacs are usually sold in smal ...

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 g ...

Magnom Joseph Bulley, known professionally as Magnom, is a Ghanaian record producer and recording artist , who produces music ranging from Hiphop, dancehall, and Afrobeats. He gained the attention of Ghanaians after he produced the song "illuminati" ...

and

Kwesi Arthur Emmanuel Kwesi Danso Arthur Junior (born 18 December 1994), known professionally as Kwesi Arthur, is a Ghanaian rapper, singer and songwriter from Tema, Ghana. He rose to fame in 2017 with the hit single "Grind day" which received wide spread ac ...

. KiDi received 6 nominations at the 2018

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 ...

including ‘Best New Artiste’, ‘Afro-pop Song of the Year’ and ‘Male Vocalist of the Year’ and went on to win the award for ‘High-life Song of the Year’ at the awards in April 2018. He was crowned as the Artiste of the 5th Edition of the 3Music award and VGMA 2022. KiDi currently has 2 studio albums and 1 EP. His debut album, Sugar was released on May 31, 2019. He also released a movie the same year with the album name (

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

) in Accra, Kumasi, and the UK.

Personal life

KiDi has a six year old son named Zane Dwamena.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Lynx Entertainment
{{DEFAULTSORT:KiDi Ghanaian male singers 1993 births Living people Alumni of the Accra Academy University of Ghana alumni Male singer-songwriters 21st-century Ghanaian male singers Ghanaian male singer-songwriters