Nana Richard Abiona (born 2 December 1988), better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a Ghanaian-English singer, songwriter and rapper. He came to attention with his first Top-10 song on the UK singles chart, " Antenna" (#7 in 2013), and for his second last Top-10 on that chart, " Dangerous Love" (#3 in 2014). He also featured on

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

's " Light It Up (Remix)", which reached No. 73 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2016. In addition to his musical career he is a vocal proponent of people of African descent learning about Africa and has launched a subscription-based educational app "School of new Africa" for the purpose.

Early life

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and raised in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, Fuse returned to London for his secondary education, where he attended the Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon. He grew up in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. The stage name "Fuse" comes from his fusion of musical styles, as he is known for his unusual combination of genres such as Afro-pop, hip-hop, R&B, funk and rock. "ODG", meanwhile, stands for "Off Da Ground". After returning to London, Fuse faced bullying as an adolescent because of his Ghanaian accent. He started making music as a way to connect with his peers and gain social status. He had a studio setup in his bedroom, and initially made music that was primarily influenced by American hip-hop, but was also informed by African genres such as Ghanaian

highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...

. Fuse also took influence from Black British genres including

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

and

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

, and was specifically inspired by the UK garage and hip-hop collective

So Solid Crew So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from Battersea, London, which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many members, the most notable being Asher D (Ashley Walters), Lisa Ma ...

. Other influences included Ghanaian rappers like Obrafour,

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- ...

and Lord Kenya. Fuse was part of a rap crew at his school called 2 Gully, and he began to take music more seriously after they performed at an open mic competition at Fairfield Halls.

Music career

2013–14: ''T.I.N.A.''

On 23 August 2012, Fuse ODG released a single titled " Antenna". The song peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 85 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. On 27 Oct 2011 he released the single " Azonto", which peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. On 19 October 2013, he was awarded Best African Act at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

' 18th Anniversary. He recently won four awards at the Urban Music Awards 2013: Best Music Video, Best Single, Best Artiste and Best Collaboration. On 29 December 2013 he released the single " Million Pound Girl (Badder Than Bad)". The song peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 65 on the

. On 18 May 2014 Fuse ODG released " Dangerous Love", featuring

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. His next single, " T.I.N.A.", featuring British R&B artist

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, was released on 19 October 2014. His debut album, '' T.I.N.A.'', an acronym for "This Is New Africa", was released on 3 November 2014 and includes all five singles. The album peaked at number 25 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and at number 63 in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Fuse ODG turned down an offer to sing on the Band Aid 30 project because he objected to the way the lyrics of the song portrayed the victims of the ongoing

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and S ...

, and Africa generally.

2015–present

In April 2015 he featured on

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), better known by his stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo studio albums, '' Star in the Hood'' (2007 ...

's single "Imperfection". In July 2015 he released the single "Only". He features on

's single "Leyla". The song was released on 17 July 2015. On 4 September 2015 he released the single "Top of My Charts". In 2016, he collaborated with British Asian artist Zack Knight and Indian rapper Badshah. They came together and composed an African/Indian soundtrack, ''Bombae''.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuse ODG Living people 1988 births Black British male rappers English male rappers 21st-century male rappers English people of Ghanaian descent People from Mitcham People from Tooting Rappers from the London Borough of Wandsworth 3 Beat Records artists Afrobeats musicians Ghanaian rappers Rappers from the London Borough of Merton