Ghana’s award-winning Afrobeats star, Sarkodie took to the Dubai desert yesterday, making him the first African artist to host a full concert in the UAE desert, made possible by CEEK, an award-winning developer of premium social virtual and augmented reality experiences, offering users to experience those ‘money can’t buy moments’.
Sarkodie took to the desert under beaming sunlight, opening with ‘Illuminati’, leading into ‘Rollies and Cigars’, he continued his charged performances, right through to finishing with ‘Adonai’ which is taken off of his Sarkology album.
Known for rapping in his native language, Twi, Sarkodie is considered a multifaceted rapper, his music has over 200 million streams and has earned him over 100 awards such as the first winner of BET’S Best International Flow in 2019, Vodafone Ghana Music Award for ‘Artist of The Decade’, he was also honoured by the Afrobeats Music Awards for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of African music globally.
CEEK are ushering in a new era of entertainment, with a mission to empower creators with the tools needed to generate new revenue streams. With the virtual reality headset CEEK simulates the communal experience of attending a concert without leaving the comfort of your home. It allows fans to engage with artists in ways that they have never been able to before.
You can have a front row experience for Sarkodie’s Rapperholic22 in the desert via www.ceek.com, the 360 VR experience can be viewed via CEEK’s virtual reality headset, you can also access the Sarkodie experience in 2D via your laptop and phone.
Tracklist
- Illuminati
- Rollies and Cigars
- Married To The Game
- Original
- Coachella
- Happy Day
- Lucky
- Pain Killer
- Can’t Let You Go
- Non Living Thing
- Adonai
Stream and Watch here:
About Ceek:
CEEK is a streaming service for virtual events and experiences that enables live events and content creators to generate revenue by extending their reach across multiple devices including virtual reality headsets, gaming consoles, mobile, desktop, tablet and Smart TVs.
About Sarkodie:
Michael Owusu Addo is the Ghanaian rap icon, best known as Sarkodie. With a career spanning 10 years at the top of his game and a decade since his landmark debut album, 2009’s joyous Makye (2009) – one of African music’s biggest and best-loved hip-hop albums to latest album No Pressure (2021).
“I always want to open doors to other territories, to other audiences, new people who might relate to my music. That wish is always there.” Across the last decade, his wish has come true, through a combination of hard work, hustle, heartfelt storytelling and captivating flow – the kind that transcends language barriers. “I rap in my native language. There came a point where I started to think of ways the world could understand me,” says Sarkodie. “The way to do that was to work and work on my delivery. You don’t need to understand what I’m saying to feel it.” As well as having tens of millions of album sales and over 80 awards to his name in his native Ghana, Sarkodie’s sound – a fizzing blend of hiplife, hip-hop and Afrobeats – has led to sold-out shows at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum and performances with an impressive array of international names, including T-Pain, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes and R&B supernova Miguel, who he duetted with at the 2014 MTV Africa Awards.
Sarkodies’ debut album Makye was a smash, as was its follow-up: 2012’s BET Award-winning Rapperholic. The record doubled down on Sarkodie’s emphasis on truthful, soul-bearing and relatable raps, exploring pain, romance and real life struggles, a philosophy he still carries with him today. “Emotion is the most important thing to me. I don’t want just songs – I want emotions. It can sound like a club banger, but you need to feel the emotion in it,” he says. As Sarkodie’s acclaim continued to grow, he found it important to give back: his charity, The Sarkodie Foundation, has transformed thousands of lives of underprivileged children in his community since its inception in 2013. “It brings me fulfillment to see joy in others,” Sarkodie explains. As his profile has increased, with the release of celebrated albums Sarkology (2014) and Highest (2017), so has his commitment to helping others.
“Some people sell out who they are to try and be accepted in different places. I know who I am and what my sound is, and that’s something I try not to lose because my authenticity is my power,” Sarkodie says of his approach to making music. It’s important to him to keep things organic, to keep rewarding his passionate fanbase with music that’s relatable and real. In December 2019 he released his most recent album Black Love to critical acclaim. He also recently featured in a documentary with Major Lazer and performed with them, as well as Rick Ross. Recent features include E-40 and Idris Elba.
To date, he remains Africa’s most decorated rappers winning over 80 awards and amassing over 180 million views across YouTube.
