Sarkodie: Inside life of one of Ghana's richest musicians

Or, it could be his nature. He is naturally introvert and always tight-lipped about his business moves.

Rise to Fame

Legally known as Michael Owusu Addo, Sarkodie rose to prominence in 2010 after conquering battle rappers with his unique flow and speed on Adom FM's popular rap competition “Kasahare Level”. Due to his delivery, he is often compared to American multiple Grammy nominee Busta Rhymes.

He earned his first label deal with Duncan Williams' Duncwills Entertainment before music executive and producer Da Hammer grabbed him through Edem and Castro’s recommendation.

Sarkodie's throwback photo Pulse Ghana

He later left the label to establish SarkCess Music – former home to Akwaboah Jnr and Strongman.

He received his first Ghana Music Awards nominations in 2010 and won four awards that night, including “Discovery of the Year” (now “Best New Act of the Year) and “Artiste of the Year” awards.

Achievements in Music

Sarkodie is arguably the most-decorated rapper in West Africa, having won 100 awards out of 176 nominations. He has won many prestigious local and international awards.

He is the only Ghanaian musician with two BET Awards plaques; “Best International Act: Africa” in 2012 and “Best International Flow” at the 2019 BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Sarkodie speaking after winning BET award ece-auto-gen

He is the only solo artiste to ever win the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards’ topmost award “Artiste of the Year” twice (in 2010 and 2013). He is also the first Ghanaian artiste to win Vodafone Ghana Music Awards’ “Best New Act” and “Artiste of the Year” awards the same year. It’s not done. He is also the current Vodafone Ghana Music Awards' “Artiste of the Decade”.

In addition, he has SoundCity Music Video Awards, The Headies and MTV Africa Music Awards to his credit.

Net worth

While many argue that he is a secret millionaire, his net worth is up in the air. In 2017, Forbes Africa magazine named him among its ‘top 10 most bankable artists in Africa’. The magazine failed to mention his net worth, his performance charges, endorsement fees or properties.

Sarkodie in Bleeding music video Pulse Ghana

It is, however, believed that when earnings from his streaming, endorsements, features and other businesses are combined, he would still surpass boastful Shatta Wale’s net worth.

Source of Wealth

We cannot establish a catalogue of Sarkodie’s source of wealth. However, the basic source is in the limelight and he can’t hide from his fans and the media. He makes money from brand endorsements, music streaming, concerts, features and influencer marketing.

His career brand endorsements and influential marketing so far include FanMilk, Samsung, Tigo (now Airtel-Tigo), SC Mobile, Malta Guinness, Ayoba, Vüme App and Pepsodent. He had a clothing line called Sark by Yas and a headphone brand called Obidi Chief Headphones back in 2013.

Sarkodie on stage ece-auto-gen

In 2014, he revealed on the remix of Shatta Wale’s hit single “Dancehall Commando” that he charges GHC10,000 for his signature intro “Haaa”. It is wildly speculated that he currently charges between GHC10,000 and 25,000 for features. In 2018, Kumasi-based rapper Ypee revealed that he paid Sarkodie $7,000 (equivalent to GHC40,000) to feature on his song “Meye Guy”. In an interview with Andy Dosty on Hitz FM in 2018, Sarkodie said he doesn’t charge friends for features but only charges up and coming musicians. He said he charges them because he ‘cracks his brains in creating verses on their records and that it's good for business.'

Becca premieres classic "Nana" film featuring Sarkodie Friday ece-auto-gen

For concerts, African Facts Zone reported that Sarkodie charged Ghc150,000 for a show in 2018 and pocketed a cool $131,000 for two Glo Mega Concerts. It is also alleged that his average charge per show is GHC100,000.

For music streaming, there are no doubts that he makes thousands of dollars from online stores and YouTube. Being the most-streamed rapper in West Africa, we won’t be surprised if he makes more than 20,000 US dollars monthly from online streaming alone.

In terms of investments, Sarkodie allegedly invested in Nana Appiah Mensah’s defunct MenzGold Ghana Limited and Prince Kofi Amoabeng’s defunct UT Bank Ghana Limited. This means Sarkodie has made a few losses.

Family, Properties and Lifestyle

Sarkodie owns a huge mansion in Lashibi, Greater Accra. Though it is not established the number of rooms embedded in the luxurious mansion, it’s estimated that the size of the mansion can contain up to 9-bedrooms. He shocked fans a few months ago when he put his massive living room on display on social media.

Sarkodie's living room Pulse Ghana

He also owns three luxury cars; two black Range Rovers and a black Benz.

Sarkodie invests in his appearance. He is a fan of sneakers – mostly Nike's Air Jordan sneakers. He is into accessories as well. He has been wearing top American sunglasses brand Ray-Ban since rising to fame and even in 2019, his fans nearly secured him an ambassadorial deal. For wristwatches, chains and bracelets, he has a bunch of them in his cabinet.

Sarkodie and his family Pulse Ghana

He spends time with his family a lot. When they are not going shopping, they are either flying abroad for vacations or weekend getaways. He travels mostly with business class. He is yet to be seen in a first-class flight.

Sarkodie, who tied the knot with Tracy Owusu Addo in 2018, has two adorable kids; a daughter, Adalyn Owusu Addo and a son; Micheal Nana Yaw Owusu Addo Jnr.