''Sarkology'' is the third studio album by Ghanaian hip-hop recording artist Sarkodie. It was released by Duncwills Entertainment on January 2, 2014. Primarily recorded in

Twi Twi () is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17-18 million speakers in total, includ ...

, the album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

s from

Fuse ODG Nana Richard Abiona (born 2 December 1988), better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "Antenna" and " Dangerous Love", and for featuring on Major Lazer's " Light It Up ...

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 ...

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 vo ...

Banky W. Olubankole Wellington (born 27 March 1981), popularly known by his stage name Banky W and credited in film as Banky Wellington, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, actor, entrepreneur and politician. Early life Olubankole Wellington was born in the ...

Timaya Inetimi Timaya Odon (born 15 August 1980), better known by his stage name Timaya, is a multiple award-winning Nigerian singer and songwriter. He hails from Odi, Bayelsa state, South-South Nigeria. He is fondly called the Egberi Papa 1 of Bayels ...

, 2 Face Idibia,

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 ''Greeting ...

, Mugeez, Obrafour,

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...

, Vivian Chidid,

Vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

, Silvastone, Sk Blinks,

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 2015 B ...

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 ...

, J Town, Lil Shaker, Raquel, Sian, Kofi B and

AKA Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to: * "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name Languages * Aka language (Sudan) * Aka language, in the Central African Republic * Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka * a prefix in the n ...

. Its production was handled by Magnom,

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

, KillBeatz, Masterkraft and Silvastone, among others.

Buildup and release

There were reports that Sarkodie was gearing up to release the album at the end of 2013. ''Sarkology'' was also reported to contain 16 tracks. According to '' The Ghanaian Chronicle'', Sarkodie told the press the album would contain 30 songs and would feature production from 13 producers, including KillBeatz, Magnom and Nshorna.

Album cover and launch concert

On August 28, 2013, Sarkodie released the album's cover art to the general public while he was in the U.K for a video shoot. The cover shows a young boy surrounded by school textbooks and other educational materials. Sarkodie utilizes the cover to promote his clothing brand Sark. ''Sarkology'' was promoted by the launch of an eponymous concert, which was held at the

Accra Sports Stadium The Accra Sports Stadium, formerly named the Ohene Djan Stadium, is a multi-use stadium (40,000-capacity, all-seater) located in Accra. Ghana, mostly used for association football matches. It is also used for rugby union. Overview The stadium was ...

on December 21, 2013. The concert featured performances from Sarkodie, Stay Jay, Kwaw Kese, Efya, Fuse ODG, Joey B, Raquel, Ephraim, Donzy, Dee Moneey, Buda, Mr. Silver, Phoot Printz and Scizo.

Singles

The album's lead single "Gunshot" was released on November 12, 2012. It features guest vocals by Nigerian singer

and was produced by KillBeatz. The Sesan-directed visuals for "Gunshot" was released on December 11, 2012. The album's second single "Illuminati" was released on November 27, 2012. The song was produced by Magnom and recorded in Sarkodie's native language

. Its music video was shot in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

at various locations by Gyogyimah of Phamous Philms. The video was uploaded to YouTube on August 19, 2013. After releasing "Illuminati", Sarkodie was jokingly rumored to have joined the "secret clan". The Lil Shaker-assisted track "Lies" was released as the album's third single. Its music video was directed by Nana-Asi Hene. According to

OkayAfrica OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has bec ...

, the video "juggles images of a broken mannequin/past lover to the backdrop of Sarkodie's flashy whips, mansions, pools and penthouses." The album's fourth single "Bounce" was released on September 19, 2013; its accompanying music video was directed by Sesan. "Down on One" was released as the album's fifth single on October 10, 2013. It features vocals by

and was produced by Killbeatz. The music video for "Down on One" was shot and directed in the U.K by Moe Musa. The album's sixth single "Pon D Ting" was released on December 23, 2013. It features guest vocals by

and was produced by Masterkraft. The music video for the song was shot during Sarkodie's trip to South Africa for the 2013

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 ...

. On December 31, 2013, Sarkodie released "Ordinary Love" as the album's seventh single. The song was produced by Beat Merchant and features vocals by

. Efya was initially intended to be on the track, but Sarkodie ended up contacting Savage because he wanted something different. The album's eighth single "Preach" was released on January 9, 2014. The song features a verse from UK-based recording artist and record producer Silvastone. An accompanying music video for "Preach" was released on February 3, 2014 and uploaded to YouTube.

Critical reception

''Sarkology'' received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Jacob Roberts-Mensah and

Ameyaw Debrah Ameyaw Kissi Debrah, known professionally as Ameyaw Debrah, is a Ghanaian celebrity blogger, freelance journalist, and reporter. He founded AmeyawDebrah.com, an entertainment website and blog that primarily publishes news about Ghanaian celebr ...

awarded the album 9 stars out of 10, commending Sarkodie for "blurring the lines between hiplife and hip-hop without necessarily being boxed in or defined by either genre".

Accolades

''Sarkology'' won Album of the Year at the 2014

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 ...

. It was also nominated for World’s Best Album at the 2014 World Music Awards.

Track listing

;Notes *"—" denotes a skit

Personnel

*Michael Owusu Addo – primary artist *Nana Richard Abiona – featured artist *David Adeleke – featured artist *Tiwatope Savage Balogun – featured artist *Darryl Bannerman-Martin – featured artist *Olubankole Wellington – featured artist *Enetimi Alfred Odom – featured artist *Innocent Ujah Idibia – featured artist *Jane Fara Awindor – featured artist *Rashid Mugeez – featured artist *Michael Elliot – featured artist *Damini Ogulu – featured artist *Vivian Chidid – featured artiste *Olanrewaju Ogunmefun – featured artist *Silvastone – producer, featured artist *Sk Blinks – featured artist *Sarkodie – primary Artist *Livingston E. Satekla – composer *Stefen Menson – featured artist *Stonebwoy – featured artist *Raquel Ammah – composer *Raquel – featured artist *Sian – featured artist *Kofi Boakye – featured artist *Kiernan Forbes – featured artist *Lil Shaker – producer, featured artist *Hammer – producer *Magnom – producer *Hammer – producer *Killbeatz – producer *King of Accra – producer *Masterkraft – producer *RedEye – mixing, mastering

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 albums Albums produced by Masterkraft (producer) Sarkodie (rapper) albums