Black Sherif, a musical wonder from Ghana, entered the music arena in 2020 and immediately became a global success. Since the African act rose to fame with the hit song First Sermon in May 2021, Black Sherif has attracted the interest of a number of international artists, including Burna Boy, DJ Khaled, Timberland, Arrdee, Darkoo, Akon, and others.
His number-one hit Kwaku the Traveller, released in March 2022, also received recognition from top US artists and became the most Shazamed song across all genres. The hit track reached the top spot on Apple Music charts in Ghana and Nigeria. Mohammed Ismail Sharif, Black Sherif, is a rapper who was born at the roots of Konongo in Kumasi in Ghana‘s Ashanti Region. The rising star developed a passion for music while a senior at Kumasi Academy.
His first musical endeavor began in 2019, but it wasn’t until his hot records, First Sermon and Second Sermon, released in May and July of 2021, respectively, that his star began to rise. Black Sherif has had some record headlines that shook the global music scene, read on as we highlight some of his beautiful moments worth noting.
- Black Sherif Performs at the 25th MOBO Awards United Kingdom
Standout Ghanaian sensation, Black Sherif, got to perform at the 25th anniversary of the Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards, held at the OVO Arena in Wembley, UK. The night was big and black magnificence, with performances by legendary artists like Nile Rodgers, Craig David, Tion Wayne, and Fireboy DML among others.
Black Sherif opened the night with his top-charting singles, “Second Sermon Remix and Kwaku The Traveller”, as part of a spectacular tribute to African music. The brilliant artist who was a surprise for the audience came on to captivate the viewers by performing his hot tunes while displaying some fantastic choreography. Notably, Hip-Hop, Grime, UK Drill, R&B, Soul, Reggae, Jazz, Gospel, and African music are among the genres recognized by the MOBO Awards, a yearly British music award ceremony.
- Black Sherif Headlines His First-Ever Concert in London
Prominent Ghanaian performer, Black Sherif, dazzled his UK audience on Friday night with a stunning performance of songs from his most recent album, The Villian I Never Was. At his sold-out debut performance at KOKO in London. Blacko, as he is known, delighted the crowded audience.
Supporting your artistic endeavors is one thing; being able to deliver is quite another level. Music critics have paid attention to Black Sherif because of the raw emotion in his vocals and the subject matter of his songs. It will be intriguing to watch how quickly music fans throughout the world will embrace this emerging talent, who is already well-known in his native country, Ghana. The audience at the London show was in for a surprise as Black Sherif performed his “Second Sermon” remix with Burna Boy, a three-time Grammy Award nominee (World Album Category).
- Black Sherif Earns Golden Club plaque for 100m+ Boomplay Streams
Black Sherif, Ghana‘s proudly talented artist, late last year became the newest member of Boomplay‘s Golden Club. Notably, there is a worthy group of artists, which also includes Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, and Diamond Platnumz, that has had the feat of accumulating more than 100 million streams on Boomplay.
You will find that Black Sherif enjoyed more than 40 million of those Boomplay streams from his dope record Kwaku the Traveller. According to sources, Black Sherif is the first singer from Ghana to reach this highlighted feat. The superstar from Ghana is known to be signed to Empire – the organization has been increasing its activities in Africa recently.
The superstar told his fans after reaching the 100M streams milestone that, “Reaching 100 million streams on Boomplay and being the first Ghanaian artist to achieve this on the streaming platform is a big deal to me.
Blacko went on to further say, As a young kid from Konongo, who only had a dream and a voice, this brings me to the realization that I can achieve any and everything so long as I believe and dare myself to take action. Thank you for this one, Blacko Tribe. Big love to the Boomplay team for putting me on from day one till now.”
Black Sherif becomes another bright spot in Ghana‘s music industry by joining Boomplay‘s Golden Club of top African musicians, which also includes Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Diamond Platinumz, Simi, Rayvanny, Fireboy, Omah Lay, Joe Boy, and more.
- Black Sherif Bags BET Awards Nomination
Black Sherif, got nominated for the 2022 BET Hip-Hop Awards in the Best International Flow category. It was no surprise, as the Ghanaian Hip-Hop artist has enjoyed an extraordinary career so far. Since breaking into the Ghanaian music scene, The Kweku the Traveller has been persistent, releasing back-to-back smash songs for his audience. The young artist, who was the lone nominee from Ghana, worked with a number of well-known artists, including Burnaboy, R2Bees, Kwesi Arthur, DJ Breezy, and DJ Khaled.
Notably, Black Sherif faced fierce competition for the prestigious Best International Flow award from Knucks (UK), Blxckie (South Africa), and Benjamin Epps (France). Le Juice (France), Central Cee (UK), Nadia Nakai (Zimbabwe), Tasha and Tracie (Brazil), and Haviah Mighty (Canada) are among the other competitors in that category.
Since the award’s existence, Sarkodie is the first Ghanaian to be nominated in the Best International Flow category. In 2019, the legendary rapper earned the honour of winning the award.
- Black Sheriff Earns the MTV Awards Nomination
The popularity of Black Sherif has truly swept the world by storm, and it shows no signs of losing steam. The Ghanaian rapper received yet another prestigious nomination at the 2022 MTV EMA, only weeks after receiving a nod at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards and releasing his debut album, The Villain I Never Was.
Blacko competed against Burna Boy (Nigeria), Tems (Nigeria), Ayra Star (Nigeria), Zuchu (Tanzania), and Mnike (South Africa) in the Best African Act category. MTV released the nominees for the MTV EMA 2022, which will include top worldwide musicians from the previous year’s music charts. With seven nominations, including Best Artist, Best Song, and Best Video, Harry Styles was the most nominated artist. While Taylor Swift, who also received a nomination for Best Longform Video – a new MTV EMA 2022 category – followed Harry Styles with six nominations.
Final Remarks
Without a question, Black Sherif has had an awesome career so far, setting new records and pushing the frontiers of music. The Soja hitmaker’s explosive debut album, The Villain I Never Was, premiered at the top of all major charts both locally and internationally.
Black Sherif received the Hip Hop Song Of The Year and New Artiste Of The Year awards at the Ghana Music Awards in addition to the Breakthrough Act Of The Year honour at the 3Music Awards.
We expect more wins to come for the African fast-rising star, Black Sherif. There are still a lot of records to win.