M.anifest

M.anifest is Ghanaian hip-hop's great craftsman, a rapper and producer whose dense, literate lyricism and pan-African ambition have earned him a reputation, in the words of The Guardian, as one of the foremost rappers on the continent.

Family and early life

He was born Kwame Ametepee Tsikata on 20 November 1982 in Accra, into a family of formidable achievement. His father is the lawyer and academic Tsatsu Tsikata, and his maternal grandfather was Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia, the celebrated composer and ethnomusicologist, a lineage that helped shape his deep sense of music and language.

From Minnesota to the mic

He moved to the United States in 2001 to study at Macalester College in Minnesota, graduating in economics in 2005. It was in the Twin Cities hip-hop scene that he sharpened his craft, releasing his debut album Manifestations in 2007 before eventually bringing his sound home to Ghana.

Career and albums

Back in Ghana he became one of the most respected voices in the country's rap scene, building a catalogue that runs from Immortal and Nowhere Cool to the ambitious pan-African record New Road and Guava Trees. His much-discussed track godMC, a lyrical sparring match with Sarkodie, became a landmark moment in Ghanaian hip-hop.

Standing

He won Best Rapper and Hip-Hop Song of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards in 2017, and has collaborated with artists across Africa and beyond, including Damon Albarn's Africa Express project. M.anifest stands as the thinking listener's favourite, an artist who has never chased the trend and rarely needed to.

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