Ghanaian hip-hop star Black Sherif joins Nandi Madida via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about his latest single, 'Sacrifice'. He also discusses his new album, ‘IRON BOY,’ how he found his place in music at a young age, and how having a strong creative team has driven his success.
Black Sherif Tells Apple Music How He Found His Place in Music at an Early Age
Since childhood, I've been an artist. I didn't have my voice on wax or anything, but I was exploring everything that was interested in, in the most artistic way. We used to do bike rides—BMX freestyles—and go dance at weddings on the weekends. It was just figuring out what I wanted to follow within entertainment. That was when I started writing music, for 15 months, before going to the studio for the first time. Then coming out of high school, I tried to follow this thing by really hustling it!
Black Sherif Tells Apple Music About the Importance of Having a Strong Team
For example, my performance at the VGMAs [Vodafone Ghana Music Awards]—it's always a team idea. I feel like everything we've done is a collection of heads. Everyone is involved, from the camera direction, to the styling, to everything. It's a lot of creative people coming together to do something. I feel like it's more powerful that way. I'm really blessed to have [those] people and those kinds of minds around me.
Black Sherif Tells Apple Music About His Idol and Inspiration, Amakye Dede
Amakye Dede had an album called 'Iron Boy’ [2015] and it was only right to pay homage to that. Recently I found out that he was friends with my grandfather! When I was a kid, he had this black jeep, so every time we were close from school, we could walk on the pedestrian road of the Raku Highway [and] see him every time. Growing up, becoming a musician and then going back to pay homage and finding out they have ties with my family—it was crazy.
Black Sherif Tells Apple Music What It’s Like To Have Akon as a Huge Fan
I feel like it makes me want to look within more. Being in the studio with your idols, they hear something that you don't hear sometimes. So it's like if someone says that about me, what does he see in me? So it makes me want to go inside more. Even now, I believe I'm still at a beginning stage of figuring out what I want my voice to be—and when I say voice, I don't mean tone. It's more my permanent message and what my purpose is.
Black Sherif Tells Apple Music What Fans Can Expect From His New Album, ‘IRON BOY'
I want them to finish listening to the album, and if it's someone that wants to make things, just pick up some stuff and start stitching! After you listen to the album, just go out! If it's your trainers, go take a jog. Just try to be something—because I feel like there's a part of success that's not being talked about in mainstream music. I try to put lights on there for people who need to hear it and know, even if it's not the exact feeling, They need to feel close to how some parts of success feels like. That's what I'm trying to do with this album.
Tune in and listen to the full episode this Friday, April 4th at 9a Lagos/London / 10a Johannesburg/Paris / 1a LA / 4a NYC on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/_AfricaNow.
Stream 'IRON BOY' below:
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