Kobi Onyame (born Kwame Barfour-Osei) is an independent recording hip-hop artist, producer and songwriter based in the United Kingdom. His albums ''Gold'' and ''Don't Drink the Poison'' were shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

Biography

Onyame was born in Ghana and grew up in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) 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, , had a population of ...

. He then moved to the UK, living 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 ...

, later moving to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to study for his master's degree at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

. His mother died in 2008. His work draws on his Ghanaian heritage, mixed with contemporary hip-hop. Early in his career, he released work under the name Jae P.

Career

Onyame's fourth album ''Gold'' was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year in 2018, where it was described as "an almost wistful echo of a yearning for home and originality that somehow has its roots in the past and present simultaneously." Following this nomination, he was the recipient of funding from the PRS Foundation, to support the recording of his next album. Along with C Duncan,

Modern Studies Modern Studies is a subject in the Scottish school system, currently taught at National 3 through Advanced Higher. It concerns contemporary social and political issues, and political processes, in Scottish, UK and international contexts. The ...

, and Rod Jones, Onyame performed at the ''Live at the Longlist'' event where the 2019 Scottish Album of the Year award winner were announced. In 2019, Onyame was one of 10 Scottish acts supported by

Creative Scotland Creative Scotland ( ; ) is the development body for the arts and creative industries in Scotland. Based in Edinburgh, it is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the execut ...

to perform at The Great Escape. In 2021, Onyame released his fifth studio, ''Don't Drink the Poison''. The ten-track album is self produced, with two tracks co-produced by Ghanaian musician Jayso and by Scottish musician Nathan Somevi. ''Don't Drink the Poison'' features guest appearances from new African artists including George Kalukusha from Malawi, SheSaidSo from South Africa and rapper Worlasi from Ghana. The album was shortlisted for the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award.

Select discography

*''Unsigned and Hungry'', 2008 (released under the name Jae P) *''Green Green Grasses'', 2011 *''Glory'', 2013 *''Gold'', 2017 *''Don't Drink the Poison'', 2021

References

External links

Kobi Onyame on what Glasgow is like for an independent musician (BBC Radio Programme)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onyame, Kobi 1982 births Living people Black British male rappers British male rappers British hip-hop musicians British people of Ghanaian descent Ghanaian hip-hop musicians Rappers from London