Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko, known as Obrafour, Rap Executioner and Rap Sofo, (born 1976) is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

hiplife Hiplife is a Ghanaian musical style that fuses Ghanaian culture and hip hop. Recorded predominantly in the Ghanaian Akan language, hiplife is rapidly gaining popularity in the 2010s throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United Ki ...

musician and rapper.

Early life

Obrafour was born in Obo Kwahu to a chorister, Gladys Agyapomaa, and Kwaku Okyere Darko. He wanted to become a lawyer but failed after his mother's death. This was in 1995 after one term at St. Peter's Boys Senior High School when as he was preparing for his

A levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

. He had his basic education at New Star Preparatory School and proceeded to Abetifi Secondary before getting into St. Peter's Boys Senior High School. As a child, he performed with his mother in church.

Music career

Obrafour has a unique style of

Twi Twi (; ) is the common name of the Akan literary language of Asante and Akuapem. Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, but more of a common name used by inland Akans as ...

rapping and storytelling. His popular and hit debut album "''

Pae Mu Ka ''Pae Mu Ka'' is the debut studio album by Ghanaian musician Obrafour, released on November 1999 and recorded in OM Studios. It features guest appearances from Cy Lover, Alhaji Flesh, Ayewa, Doctor Poh, and Funky Functure. The album was produced ...

''", for which he won 3 awards during the 2000 edition of

Ghana Music Awards The Ghana Music Awards, also known since 2024 by the sponsored name Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMAs), formerly Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs), is an annual music awards event in Ghana established in 1999 by a local event organizer and p ...

is arguably one of the best selling albums in Ghana. In May 2019, Obrafour celebrated the 20th anniversary of the "''Pae mu ka''" album. His musical influence came from his mother. While in high school, he put together a

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

that sang gospel songs. Later on Quincy a friend of Obrafour's who could rap, introduced him to the art. He attended auditions and performance sessions and met Hammer who was then an amateur beat maker. Hammer facilitated a deal between Obrafour and Abraham Ohene-Djan (OM Studios) and in the latter part of 1999, Pae Mu Ka, his debut album was released. On November 9, 2019, he commemorated the 20th anniversary of the album at the 'Pae Mu Ka' concert at the Accra Intentional Conference Centre. In April 2023, he filed a lawsuit against

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

for sampling his 'Oye Ohene' remix on his 'Calling my Name' track without his consent. Presenting his case, Obrafour stated that an agent Of Drake reached out to him for permission to use his work and went ahead with it without his authorization. He sued for $10 million on the grounds that the song had garnered a lot of patronage on several platforms since its release.

Discography

* ''

'' (1999) * ''Asem Sebe'' (2001) * ''Tofa (2005)'' * ''Asem Beba Dabi'' * ''Heavy (2006)'' * ''Nte Tee Pa'' (2003) * ''Still Strong''(2018) * ''Love Anthem''(2018) * ''Adom Bi''(2019)

Awards and nominations

Ghana Music Awards

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Ghana Music Awards UK

!Ref , - , 2004 , "Ntete Pa" , Album of the Year , ,

References

Relevant literature

*Oduro-Frimpong, Joseph. "The Pleasure(s) of Proverb Discourse in Contemporary Popular Ghanaian Music: The Case of Obrafour’s Hiplife Songs." ''Being and Becoming African as a Permanent Work in Progress: Inspiration from Chinua Achebe's Proverbs'', edited by Franics B. Nyamnjoh, Patrick Nwosu, and Hassan M. Yoimbom.

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest Region. The city has a population of about six hundred thousand people and is located north-west of the C ...

, Cameroon: Langaa Research and Publishing. (2021): 259-280. Living people Ghanaian rappers 1976 births People from Eastern Region (Ghana) Ghanaian hip-hop musicians Ghanaian highlife musicians {{ghana-musician-stub