Pulse Picks:10 times Black Sherif made the headlines in 2022

2022 has proven to be big for Ghanaian musicians as there is so much new talent and established talent who are now breaking down barriers and taking their music to worldwide audiences.

Several music acts have put Ghana on the map from time immemorial. Through the various stages of the evolution of music from the West African country, different artistes have represented the voice of the country to the world when it comes to music as an export commodity.

So far for 2022 we have had our eyes on one musician who we feel is one of the few artists that has taken the world by storm and that is Black Sherif, the black star in Ghana’s flag.

Black Sherif, since gaining popularity through his hit song “First Sermon” in May 2021, has caught the attention of several global acts including Burna Boy, DJ Khaled, Timberland, Arrdee and Darkoo, Akon and the likes.

Born and raised in Konongo in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, the rapper whose birthname is Mohammed Ismail Sharif, got interested in music while attending senior high school at Kumasi Academy. His first foray into music started in 2019 but his light was not to shine until 2021 when his songs “First Sermon” and “Second Sermon” released in May and July of that year become instant hits. The two songs became the fastest two songs to reach 1 million streams on Boomplay that year.

Sherif’s story is written in stars. Since his breakout in 2021 and his debut spectacular performance of his single, “Kwaku, The Traveller” at the 2022 3Music Awards, the world cannot have enough of spell-bounding music. His fame has spread far and wild with his songs topping charts in many countries and various music streaming platforms.

Below are all the times times Black Sherif made the headlines in 2022.

1. Black Sherif won four out of five award nominations at the 2022 3Music Awards.

The 20-year-old rapper took home four coveted awards at the 5th edition of the 3Music Awards which took place at the Grand arena of the Ghana international conference.

The second sermon hitmaker won hip life/hip hop artiste of the year, Breakthrough act of the year, Hip hop song of the year and song of the year respectively.

2. Black Sherif’s climactic rain performance at 3Music Awards

The “Second Sermon” crooner thrilled the audience at the award ceremony with a pulsating performance. The icing on the cake was when he caused rain to fall on stage as he delivers renditions of his hit songs. It is the first time that has ever happened on a Ghanaian stage and the action is anticipated to be talked about for a very long time.

The climactic performance which depicts Black sherif detailing his journey to stardom on a microphone in the rain with a soul touching emotional rooted lyrics and transitioned to his monster hit records, first Sermon and Second remix showcasing his vocal dexterity.

3. Black Sherif wins Best New Artiste and Best Hip-Hop Song at the 2022 Ghana Music Awards

The young and sensational artist Black Sherif, won his first Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) plaque. He won the best hip-hop song of the year at the 23rd VGMAs held at the Accra International Conference Centre on Saturday, May 7, 2022.

Black Sherif's Second Sermon beat Abotre by Amerado Burner ft Black Sherif, Winning by Kwesi Arthur ft Vic Mensa, Coachella by Sarkodie ft Kwesi Arthur, Sika Aba Fie Rmx by Kweku Darlington ft Kuami Eugene, Kweku Flick, Yaw Tog, Fameye, and Sore Rmx by Yaw TOG ft Stormzy & Kwesi Arthur

4. Boomplay honours Black Sherif with Golden Plaque

The Africa-facing music service Boomplay has honoured Ghanaian artist Black Sherif for surpassing 100 million streams on the platform.

The artist, who becomes the first Ghanaian musician to reach the milestone on Boomplay, was presented with a plaque for joining the streamer’s Golden Club.

By making it to Boomplay’s Golden Club, Black Sherif joined top African music stars, including Nigeria’s Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Fireboy DML, Joeboy and Omah Lay, as well as Tanzania’s Diamond Platinumz and Rayvanny who have chalked up the feat.

5. Black Sherif Crowned As ‘Youth Chief’ In Tamale

Black Sherif was crowned the ‘Nachin Naa’ of Tamale by traditional rulers in the Northern Region for his exploits in the field of music.

The new ‘Youth Chief’ of Tamale is currently on a tour in the region as part of promotions for his debut album ‘The Villain I Never Was’ which was released on October 6, 2022.

The solemn coronation ceremony was held in honour of the rapper at the Dakpema Palace on Monday, October 10, 2022.

6. Spotify mounts huge billboard of Black Sherif to celebrate him

Popular streaming service Spotify honoured Black Sherif on a huge state-of-the-art billboard abroad.

The billboard featured a photo of Black Sherif in a suit with the title of his album written beneath it. An excited Blacko took to his Twitter page to share a photo and video of the beautiful gesture and thanked Spotify for honouring him.

Many Ghanaians were excited about the gesture and were pleased to see Black Sherif gain more international appeal.

7. Black Sherif Named Among YouTube Foundry Class Of 2022

Black Sherif gained a call-up into YouTube’s Foundry Class of 2022.Black Sherif is one of 30 artists making the Class of 2022 Foundry’s biggest class to date, featuring indie talent spanning genres and continents.

Launched in 2015, Foundry is YouTube Music’s global artist development programme serving the independent music community and allowing artists access to resources to help them thrive on YouTube and build careers on their own terms.

Foundry Class of 2022 artists represent 15 countries, from the U.S. to Denmark and Brazil to Sub-Saharan Africa. Working across genres such as country, Afropop, soul, Latin urban and more.

8. Black Sherif released his debut album, “The Villain I Never Was”

The much-anticipated maiden album titled 'The Villian I Never Was' was released midnight on October 6, 2022 and has already topped trends across Ghanaian social media platform.

The 14-track album features his monster hits 'Second Sermon' remix which features Burna Boy, Kwaku The Traveller, and Soja released a few weeks ago ahead of the album.

Within weeks, the album topped charts in Ghana and Nigeria and debuted at Number 12 on Billboard’s World Album Charts.

9. Balcko’s first headline concert in London.

Black Sherif, organised his first-ever concert in London, UK, on Friday, November 18. The Soja hit singer had a sold-out concert at KOKO in London, UK, and gave fans their time's worth.

Black Sherif delivered a spectacular performance with back-to-back hit songs at his first headlining concert in the UK.

He later surprised fans when he invited Burna Boy on stage to perform. The duo delivered an electrifying performance, sending fans into a frenzy as the crowd erupted with cheers during the traffic-stopping show.

10. Blacko's 'Soja' terminates Asake’s 'Terminator' from top spot on Ghana Apple music after 24hours

Black Sherif’s ‘Soja’ has officially terminated Nigerian singer Asake’s ‘Terminator’ from the number 1 spot on Ghana’s Apple music.

The single off his upcoming album ‘THE VILLAIN I NEVER WAS’ peaked at number one on Ghana’s Apple music defeating Asake’s ‘Terminator’ after leading the charts for a couple of weeks.

The song also also got over 500,000 streams on Audiomack in just 24 hours after its release and over 300,00 views on Youtube.

The Black Sherif’s story resonates with many people mostly African youths. It is a story of hope, hard work, liberation, creativity and limitlessness. He is on course to achieve an even greater impact. At this point, the world is Blacko’s oyster. The journey continues for Kweku the Traveller!

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