Why Black Sherif Chose The Poverty Theme To Sell His Music

Photo: Black Sherif/Instagram

By Kinyua Mwangi

Download FREE DJ Mixes on Mdundo

Ghanaian rapper Black Sherif would easily pass for a struggling artist from a very humble background if his downtown music videos are anything to go by. 

However, the 20-year-old Ghanaian star comes from a well-to-do family. He says that he chooses the ‘low life’ setting in his music videos to show the reality of things on the ground. 

His 2021 release ‘Money’ set the ground for Black Sheriff, and he shot to stardom with ‘Second Sermon’ which he also released last year. The song caught the attention of Grammy Award winner and Nigerian superstar Burna Boy and the to went ahead to make a remix which was released only a couple of weeks ago. 

‘Second Sermon’ remix only came out a number of days ago and it adds to the flavor of the original song being a national anthem. But who is Black Sherif, the young artist holding Ghana’s rap genre in his hands? 

He was born on January 9, 2002, in Konongo, a neighborhood tucked deep in Ghana’s populous Ashanti region. Before his fame in music, many people knew him by his birth name; Mohammed Ismail Sherif. 

The ‘Money’ hitmaker schooled at Kumasi Academy for his senior high school and later moved to the University of Professional Studies to pursue a degree in Marketing. 

Black Sherif started his music career in 2019 with ‘Money’ being among his first hits and he was pretty successful.  

Energized, he got down to business, and wrote mind-boggling music - one of the hits being ‘First Sermon’ which he followed up with ‘Second Sermon’. 

These two hits – among others such as ‘Ankonam’ – gave him musical mileage winning admiration from renowned producers on an international level. 

For instance, Jae5 from the United Kingdom, a very well-known music producer recently got the chance to make a record with Black Sherif.  

Ciza, a South African artist also expressed his admiration for the vicenarian stating that his songs inspire him beyond measure. 

While explaining his art, Black Sherif discloses that his stage name has a lot of significance as it is a symbol of a high African. 

He expounds that his success in music is purely because people relate to it which is why a poverty theme always prevails in his music. 

To have a better understanding of the hardships faced by young people, he opted for a life on the streets – at least for his music videos. But he has also been there for other reasons apart from music just to understand the hardships of street life. 

During a recent interview with Pure FM, he laid it all bare. 

“I’m from a very comfortable home. Not super-rich but very comfortable. I have chosen the street life. I’m doing this for myself because my biggest fear is failure. 

“I don’t want anything to happen before I wake up and build my life.” 

Black Sherif’s mantra is fighting poverty to his last breath. And there is no better way to eradicate poverty in Ghana than with new-age rap and trap speaking to a demographic that holds Ghana’s future. 

Interestingly, while many artists look up to their elder peers in the industry, the young Ghanaian prodigy says he is self-inspired. 

However, he still appreciates what other rappers put out. 

“Real life happening is the biggest motivation in my lyrical vibe and so many rap artists in the music industry do inspire me but I will say I am my own inspiration,” he told GNA Entertainment in the past. 

As a relatively new entrant in the music industry, Black Sherif appeals to all entertainment stakeholders to support upcoming artists. 

He may have been lucky that he made a name for himself in a relatively short time, but it is not the case with many other upcoming artists.