Growing up Kumasi, It’s kind of very hard
You need to sometimes move illegal to get something, you feel me?
What you’re hearing is the sound of people that have been neglected
for a very long time.
It’s the pain that makes us go in for something.
We’re living the American lifestyle.
N****s be drippin.
You see that gang s**t stuff.
Yeah.
Kumerica Santamerica, we representing for life!
We are the kings of the street now.
[Gangsta Rap International]
Got another bird call again.
This time I’m in Ghana, yeah?
Kumasi, to be exact.
Now, Kumasi is the second biggest city in Ghana,
and I’m hearing it’s been taken over by a group of rappers
who are obsessed with drill music.
They go by the name of Kumericans.
There’s a big scene happening out here,
and I need to find out exactly why that is.
What you saying, Jeffery?
Is that why we’re here? Is that why we’re here, Jeffery?
Ahh, yeah, boi!
What you sayin’, Miami Beach, yeah?
Up until recently,
Ghana’s main musical exports were highlife and Afro beats
from its capital, Accra.
Accra is the national capital.
That’s where you have all the big TV stations that go nationwide
that transmit nationwide.
Most of these few record labels that we have are based in Accra.
So there's a lot of power in Accra.
And because we don’t have our fair share of development
when it comes to infrastructure, buildings, and all that,
things in Kumasi are seen as jokes to people in Accra.
So people feel shy to say that they live in Kumasi
or they are coming from Kumasi.
All that changed in 2020,
when a new breed of Ghanaian musicians from Kumasi
created their own iteration of drill
inspired by Pop Smoke and American culture.
..Gang members outside
Kumerica till we die
More hoes, more papers
More party, more sneakers
These boys decided to put on Kumasi
and brand it with American sound.
They actually came up with the term “Kumerica.”
Kumerica, if you f**k up, we go mash up your head.
It’s Kumasi and America.
And these guys, they drip,
they make sure that they are looking fly all the time,
they have a slogan, “Never get caught unfresh,” you know?
And what does that-- what do they mean by that?
It means every day, stay drippin 24/7.
That’s what we do.
This sick new rap genre, locally called Asakaa,
is leaving fans around the world excited, intrigued and confused.
We’re going to be reacting to some Ghanaian drill today, yeah?
I saw this on Twitter,
and I was like, “What? That’s live.” So bring it.
Yo, so we got UK drill,
Chicago, New York, US drill,
and now we got Ghana drill.
Of all the drills,
the only drill we never heard is Ghanaian drill.
But it’s one tune in particular that’s really got people talking.
This is hard.
This is hard as hell, dude.
I don’t know what I was expecting,
but this is fire, bro.
The young bull responsible for this anthem is Yaw Tog.
At 19, he’s the face of Ghanaian drill,
the youngest in the scene,
and he’s the first to break through internationally
with this absolute banger,
He even got King Stormzy on the remix.
This kid is undeniably a star.
And even though his rise has been meteoric,
he still lives at home with his mum
in an area called Santasi, renamed Louisiana,
which is where I’m going to link him.
Yes. Yes. What’s going on?
What’s happening, star boy?
You good, yeah?
What’s it like for you growing up around here?
OK. I grew up here, and I was doing bad things.
My friends were really doing some gangster s**t.
My mum told me I was turning into a bad kid.
-Right. -You feel me, yeah?
So she told me, “No, bro. Come inside.”
Along the line, I fell in love with music,
then I studied music.
So music kind of saved you?
Yeah, of course.
I wanted to go hard in my music and get something for the family.
So
like, crazy.
How did that song come about?
When this whole Kumerica started,
I was sitting up on top of this building,
listening to a beat.
I heard
Then I went to O’Kenneth, Reggie, their studio,
and I said, “Bro, I’ve got some hook here.
Let’s get it down.”
That absolutely popped off.
And then one of the big guys, like, Stormzy came over
and then connected with you or whatnot.
Bro, it was crazy for real.
I was like, bro. I told them they should stop playing.
Stormzy can never, nah, Stormzy can never come on my song.
At that time I was just coming up.
I knew nothing.
It was crazy.
He came down, people screaming and stuff.
Crazy. Crazy, bro.
What got you into drill music?
So I think last year, I saw Pop Smoke.
His drill, like,
I fell in love with his rap, attitude, everything.
And the beat was moving crazy, too.
And I said, “No, I can flow better on this beat.”
Yeah, that was it, that was it.
Are you still in education as well?
I’m in my final year in senior high school.
When you go to school, people be shouting at me.
That’s crazy.
You can’t even get peace of mind to learn.
What is it like to have a famous son?
You’re a famous mum!
She’s more famous than me.
People were shouting, “See Yaw Tog’s mum.”
She has a stall out there.
People were shouting, “Hi, Mum. Hi, Mum,”
-Is it? -passing by.
Yaw Tog, man.
This young one, born up on this here place.
Him a the toughest, man.
This young man, Wareian boy. Yaw Tog.
Yaw Tog, yeah!
This brother can’t move an inch without getting love from his fans.
Let’s go.
We’re going to the main strip
where Yaw Tog would hang about as a kid.
And in typical Kumerican fashion, it’s been renamed Miami Street.
Yes, brother, blessings. Yeah, man.
This is the hood. We’ve got gangsters.
It sometimes gets dangerous here.
Someone can harm you,
someone can just take your things
because they’re hard n****s here.
This is also the street where Yaw Tog shot the
It didn’t take long before they gave me a live re-enactment.
And you know me, of course I had to jump in and shake a leg.
I didn’t even realize that you have to do a specific dance to this tune.
A lot of footwork’s happening right now.
A lot of footwork, watch.
You get what I’m saying? Watch me now.
Yeah?
Watch the twist-up now, watch the twist-up now,
watch the twist-up, watch it.
Twist-up now, twist-up now, twist-up that now.
Twist-up that now, yeah? Twist-up that.
So what, you can do that?
Oh, we love a little bit of philanthropy.
I hope I said the word right.
He just had all of the kids just lined up,
and he’s just been giving out some money to them and whatnot.
And do you know what I love about all of this?
We’ve been out here for a few hours, and no one has asked for nothing.
And it makes you just want to give.
They’re still out here just showing bare love, just dancing
and just catching a vibe.
This is sick.
These lot, you can see how proud they are of him.
Like, this is a proud community.
Honestly, yesterday was a madness.
Today, I’m heading to the local market
to pick up a special delicacy I’ve been hearing about
called Tiger Nut.
Sounds kind of sus, still.
Yo, what is that?
So since I've been here,
I’ve heard a couple of people talking about Tiger Nut.
I’m going to try this,
but I have a couple of questions.
Tad salty.
Is it from a tiger’s actual nut sack?
And if it’s from a tiger’s nut sack,
how do people know that a tiger’s nut sack tastes good?
And how do people get close enough to a tiger’s nuts
to get the nut juice out of the tiger’s nut sack?
I’m going to the town of Ampabame to link the king of melodies himself,
Kweku Flick.
..Don’t come my way
3b four ah y3nk fie
Five, two, and six
I’m awake...
Oh, s**t. Sorry.
Yo, yeah, rah, mandem’s out, yeah.
Wagwan? Yes, yes, yes.
Boom, boom, boom.
What’s going on? Yes, man. What’s going on?
You brought the full team out, yeah?
I love it. Yes, yes. Blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed.
I’ve come to meet the superstar.
What’s going on, man?
-How are you, man? -Good.
You going to show me around your hood and that, like?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So here is Ampabame city, Kumasi.
So let’s go, guys.
PAW, PAW, PAW!
PAW, what is that? What is that word?
PAW, PAW. P-A-W. Prayers Always Work.
Oh, PAW.
Alright, so let’s go. Let’s go, let’s go.
What was it like growing up around here?
What was this area like?
My area is kind of like ghetto area, street life here.
OK, so I want to show you the chief’s palace.
Man didn’t say yard. The man said palace.
To blouse and skirt.
-Is this it here? Oh, wow. -Yes.
What, are you allowed in here like that?
We’re not going to get shot, are we?
This is how I’m seeing it, yeah?
Basically, these man are saying this is the chief’s palace.
The gates are open, and we’ve just walked into a man’s yard.
I'm worried about stray dogs,
guardsmen with straps,
and any type of bad man that is lingering around here.
But these man seem to have it figured out.
So, you know what? We’re just going to go with it.
I feel like I’m about to meet the president, bro.
Oh, there he is. There, yeah?
Let’s stand up. When he sits down, we can sit.
Hello, how are you?
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
OK, we can sit down.
Well, firstly, thank you for allowing me to come into your house.
You know about him and his music?
-Yeah. -Yeah.
How do you feel about the music?
PAW, PAW.
Right. Yes, of course.
That was like meeting the in-laws for the first time.
Breathe, Chuck, breathe.
To take the edge off,
he’s taken me to a local spot to try some Ghanaian drinks.
I just hope it’s not that Tiger Nut thing.
Adonko Atadwe ginger.
This is what my people take [drink].
-Has it got alcohol in it? -Yeah, yeah.
But I will only take this.
-You don’t drink-- -I don’t drink alcohol.
Ahh, I respect that.
I don’t drink alcohol.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
I can’t even tell you what’s in that,
but all I know is it’s got alcohol and ginger.
It’s still in my chest.
What would you say has been your biggest moment?
Would it be
I know
..Awurade ee mehia sika
Mep3s3 mekenkan sika dan ma yie
Firi s3 Menya sika a mens3e no o
Me nya sika mens3e no...
How did that song come about?
It was just a vibe.
It was just a freestyle thing that I did it in, boom.
But how has things changed for you since then?
OK, so I didn’t have anything [money].
-But now I can feed myself. -Right.
Yeah, you get it.
How was you able to stay away from
what the streets have to offer sometimes?
You know, as a kid, when you grow up,
you grow up in a certain community,
and there’s a lot of things that are happening
that are not really good things.
How were you able to stay away from that?
How were you able to steer yourself away from it?
OK, so I was able to stay away through schooling
because any time, any day, I was in school,
like, furthering my education and other stuff.
That’s it, the secret.
So let me get this straight.
My man doesn’t drink alcohol and is committed to his studies.
These rappers are built different here.
Come here, come here.
My grandma is here.
-Your grandma’s here? -Yeah.
-She’s here right now? -Yeah, she’s here right now.
Alright, I want you to ask her one thing, yeah?
Ask her how does she feel about the music that you make.
OK.
Yaaaay!
Sing it, sing it. Go on, sing it.
Granny’s got moves.
I found out that Yaw Tog and Kweku are BFFs,
and tonight, they’re going head-to-head
in a local football match.
The blue is team Flick.
The guys in the Man United tops are team Tog.
Tog’s team’s not cutting it.
I feel like if I managed Tog’s team right now,
I could get them a goal.
Stay tight, number three.
Yeah, look, there’s two man in the same space. That’s a problem.
When you stay tighter on the man, they can’t get past you.
Goal!
Oh s**t!
Goal!
Oh s**t!
Oh s**t! Did you see that?
Like, good game.
So you two got each other’s back?
Not just on football, but--
We are more than brothers.
-More than brothers? -Yeah, yeah.
Next time, if any of you need me, shout me.
I provide seven goals, minimum.
Don’t worry, Chuckie.
Alright, blessed, my bro. Come on, man.
All that football has got us feeling peckish.
It’s my last night, and the boys invite me to dinner
for some traditional Ghanaian food and virgin cocktails.
So what's the plans for the future?
What countries are you hoping that you can reach?
When it involves me, it’s London, no cap. London.
Have you got a London accent?
Umm, I think I know “innit.”
-Innit. -Yeah, innit.
I know that ching.
-What’s that? -Ching.
Ching? Oh, that’s a mad one.
I need to listen to the music before I remember all this stuff.
Man’s coming out with I know dip man down.
Alright, mandem.
Love for looking after me, showing me around.
I really appreciate it.
And all the best.
Cheers to greatness.
But you have to finish your head.
Now let’s go.
-Go like this. -How do I eat this?
Do you like it?
-Mm hmm. -It’s alright, still.