Success is spelled Sarkodie

The Ghanaian musician is label-free, legacy-focused and making global moves that are on his own terms

- Kibo Ngowi

The first time I listened to Lavida Loca, I couldn't help but groove to it. Sarkodie's voice glides over M.O.G Beatz's production with signature slickness, while Ghanaian rapper Lasmid's hook worms its way into your brain with the kind of catchy ease only a summer anthem can manage. It's effortless and infectious, the kind of track you want to blast with the car windows down, soaking up every moment.

Turns out, that's exactly what Sarkodie did. “I was in Washington, DC, during my last US tour, driving my sports car with the top down, just blazing the music,” he tells me during a video call from his home in Ghana. “It felt right. Like you're outside having fun.”

The record had been sitting on ice for a while, waiting for the perfect moment. “I trust my instincts. I'm always right when I feel like I have to do something. And this just felt like the time.”

He was right. With tens of millions of streams, more than 80 awards and a career that's seen him collaborate with everyone from T-Pain and Kranium to Idris Elba and Oxlade, Sarkodie remains one of Africa's most decorated and respected rap icons. He's sold out venues around the world, including London's O2 Kentish Town Forum. His creative reach now stretches beyond music, with roles like a onetime stint as creative director for Ghana Party in the Park in London — a festival spotlighting Ghanaian talent in the diaspora.

So when he drops a track like Lavida Loca, the world listens.

Naturally, I had to wish him a happy belated birthday. I had read he'd turned 40 on 10 July.

He laughs. “Yeah, that's the information out there. I've been lying so much that I lost count of my own age. But I'm definitely not 40 yet. I'm getting very close though.”

He spent the day quietly, just the way he likes it. “It was intimate. Just myself, my wife and my kids. We had breakfast together. That’s the kind of celebration I love.”