Digital Cover Story 8: Kwesi Arthur
Focused, ambitious, and undoubtably humble, Kwesi Arthur’s ascent to the spotlight since emerging on our radar in 2017 has been swift – but the Ghanaian born and bred musician maintains that he’s still “got a long way yet to go”. With a wealth of international accolades under his belt, including a win for Hip Hop song of the year at Ghana’s 2018 Music Awards, the second Ghanaian rapper to be nominated for a BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher, sold out shows, enviable collaborations including his brand new feature on Sarkodie’s summer-soaked single ‘Coachella’, a co-sign from Cardi B, and over 590,000+ Spotify listeners per month (excuse me whilst I catch my breath), you would be right to think that the status would have given Kwesi (born Emanuel Kwesi Danso) an ego, but quite the contrary, the young musician exudes nothing but gratitude for how far he’s come, and affirms: “this is just the beginning, we haven’t even scratched the surface yet”.
Words by Danielle Temeng
Born and raised in the Community 9 area of Tema, in Ghana, West Africa, music was always a constant in Arthur’s home life. Though none of his parents were musically inclined – his father worked as an electrical engineer, and mother a homemaker – the mere presence of an eclecticism of sounds from the radio, ranging from the Blues and Jazz to high-life, subconsciously all influenced the sounds we hear in Kwesi’s music today. Like many young teens growing up in the 00’s, American music and culture reigned supreme – it would be this discovery of musicians such as Drake, and collectives like Young Money that solidified a young Kwesi Arthur’s ambitions to pursue music. “My dad is strict,” Arthur recollects while laughing, “and yet somehow he let me have my choice when it came to choosing my career,” and what a choice that turned out to be, with Kwesi being dubbed a rising star in African music and having recently released his recent single ‘Winning’ featuring American-Ghanaian hit-maker Vic Mensa.
Speaking to the rapper amid London’s second lockdown, we briefly touched upon the eventful 2020 Arthur had, which included linking up with the UK’s very own Stormzy to film visuals out in Kumasi, Ghana for their remix on ‘Sore’ with Yaw Tog; and following with a flurry of singles including ‘Baajo’ Ft. Joe Boy, and ‘Visa’ alongside Joey B and Kelvyn Boy. It’s this moment which struck me at just how much the “celebrity” of it all hadn’t sunk in for the rising star, as he expressed: “it’s been a great journey so far, lots of ups lots of downs, but I’m still learning and seeing new things – I’m grateful”.
“At the end of the day if newer artists emerge, make their own music, create their own sound, make a change to their own situations and it also encourages more people to appreciate the culture then it’s all been worth it.”
As we eased into the flow of conversation, we delved into the (somewhat) rapid nature of his ascent into the spotlight, “I would just say I’m grateful, first of all, for how far I’ve come and grateful for all the people I have come to know” he begins, “we’re just getting started – it’s really a whole marathon, we’ve just begun, and this is not where It will end, it’s going to go further and further so I’m just grateful for where I am right now.” And on if the industry and people within it were all he’d imagined: “I can’t complain cause everyone I’ve actually met, fortunately, has been nice to me,” he laughs, “I can’t say the same for others, but all the people I’ve met and collaborated with have been great, so I’m just looking forward to COVID being over and us being able to vibe and be way more effective than we are able to right now.”
As a prominent name in Ghana’s youth music scene, many upcoming artists look to Kwesi as an inspiration, so it was imperative to understand where he acquired his eclectic rap, RnB, hip-hop and trap sound from, which differs from the Afrobeat sound the west of the continent is famed for. He recalls fondly, “growing up my dad always had the radio on because he was a repairer of electronical gadgets, so whenever we went home, I’d always stay close to him, and he’d be playing the radio.” The ‘Don’t Keep Me Waiting’ artist reminisces, “there were a lot of different things that would come on, lots of different songs playing like stuff by Amakye Dede, and sometimes you’d hear Blues on the radio too, so I would say that that influenced me subconsciously – I was hearing, but I wasn’t really listening.” Nonetheless, when the moment came that a 22-year-old Arthur decided to buckle down and start making his own music, starting with debut single ‘Grind Day’, he mentions “I feel like listening to Young Money and the whole Drake era when he was coming up made me focus and try to emulate the fresher sounds I was being exposed to. I enjoyed other songs and other cultures as well as my own.” And it shows in the versatility and constant evolution of his sound, which ranges from silky vocals on singles such as ‘Turn on the Light’, to gritty rap hits like 2018 smash hit ‘Anthem’, and yet as a child of “strict” African parents Kwesi discusses how “lucky and grateful” he was to be able to pursue his passions at all. “I don’t know why,” Kwesi smiled whilst mentioning, “but he [his father, Jacob] just let me do whatever I wanted to do in terms of my career path and choice. Honestly, I was surprised he allowed me to do it [pursue music] but I’m just grateful to him for trusting and believing in me. I know I’m lucky because it’s not every African parent who would allow their kids to do this.”
Now, Kwesi is represented by Ground Up Chale, one of the leading management agencies and creative hubs in Ghana and London.
“I am, at the core of it all, a fan of music…so I honestly would love to work with everyone.”
Touching upon the notion of music changing situations took us right to the meaning of Kwesi’s most recent single, ‘Winning’ featuring Vic Mensa. On the inspiration behind the track the rapper mentioned, “‘Winning’ was inspired by the story of myself and other people around me who have been able to overcome the struggles of our environment with so many odds stuck against us.”, and with 11 award nominations and two wins securely under his belt, it’d be fair to say he’s certainly doing something right. With its high-octane feel and summer vibes this collaboration is sitting as one of Kwesi’s best yet, following on from tracks with some notable names in the industry such as Mr Eazi, Shatta Wale, Sarkodie, Wizkid. “I’ve always been a fan of Vic.” Arthur proudly states, “I remember remixing a song of his back in the day, so this really meant a lot to me. He is also a proud Ghanaian, so it only made sense for us to connect when he was here. The creative process was very organic – he reached out to us and came to our studio in Ghana, and we locked in, I made the hook a few weeks earlier. Juicezz my producer made the beat and we played it for Vic and the rest was magic.”
Proving himself a key tastemaker in the scene, Kwesi has revolutionised the music coming out of Ghana with his genre-bending fusion of sounds – with the rise of new genres such as alté, to Afro-trap and the Chicago-hailing drill movement making its way across the shores to places like the Ashanti region in Ghana (where this trap-evolved music is most prominent in the country), to Nigeria and South Africa, we pondered on if these new sounds will be the new wave of African music. “Well, for the past five years new sounds and genres have been emerging from Africa, and because of the internet everyone has a chance to thrive now.” Kwesi explains, “For a while it used to be used to be the idea that if you don’t do afrobeat then you wouldn’t blow, but right now I don’t think that’s the notion anymore – people are doing so much outside of the Afrobeat sphere and it’s working – I think it should keep growing.” Discussing his own fusing of sounds he resolved, “Even with someone like me, I don’t usually do Afrobeats, I just make African music and it’s because I’m African, right? So, if it’s rap, RnB, Afrobeats or trap you’d want to call me that’s fine, but to me I don’t necessarily think it’s that, it’s just my type of African music.”
As the conversation wound down, I was interested to know what is to come next for this modest superstar. “This year I’m really trying to focus on working with more artists as last year I wasn’t really able to collaborate with people” he yearns, “I’ve only recently been able to go out and start collaborating again – last year I really didn’t get to work with as many people as I’d have wished like Oxlade, but once everything’s back to normal properly then I’m really looking forward to it.” And as diplomatic and gracious as ever, when asked about who he’d most like to collaborate with he responded, with not a hint of hesitation: “I am, at the core of it all, a fan of music so this is a tough question for me. I honestly would love to work with everyone,” he laughed, “I’m a fan of Saint JHN he’d be dope to work with, and I recently discovered this artist named Mereba who is really good! I would love to work with her as well.”
Making a triumphant return to the stage after the industry-wide halt due to COVID-19, Arthur affirms his excitement in returning to live music this summer, “I will definitely be performing when everywhere is open,” and on what we can expect next from the star, “I have been working on my album for some time now – it is almost done and should be out this year. I can’t wait to share it with the world!” The stratosphere is the limit for Kwesi Arthur, and as he continues to put Ghana on the map and lead the rap scene in Africa, the only way for him is up.
Watch the visuals for ‘Winning’ below!
Youtube/ Kwesi Arthur
Stream ‘Winning’ HERE
Follow Kwesi Arthur on socials:
Instagram: @kwesiarthur_
Twitter: @kwesiarthur_